Evil Angel
by DotNetDemon
Summary: A virus consumes Knothole Village. The residents are dying. There are no answers in sight. A young boy, seemingly immune to the virus, takes it upon himself to save his friends even if it means making the ultimate sacrifice.
1. More Questions than Answers

The following story is a work of fiction based on the video game and Archie Comic Publications, Inc. comic SONIC THE HEDGEHOG™. All characters, locations, and events that are associated with the game are copyright © 1992-2013 SEGA CORPORATION and ARCHIE COMIC PUBLICATIONS, INC. This fiction is protected by fair use laws under the appropriate jurisdictions and is not to be sold or published without written consent from all parties. SONIC THE HEDGEHOG™: EVIL ANGEL copyright © 2013 ADAM HARDIN. All rights reserved. SONIC THE HEDGEHOG™ logo is copyright © and trademark ™ of SEGA CORPORATION.

* * *

When the virus hit, it was originally thought to be a hard case of influenza: symptoms were typical of the infection with vomiting and fever. The first to be affected was, of all people, Antoine: coming back from a mission he had puked his guts out right outside the secret entrance of Knothole. Sonic begrudgingly along with Rotor took shovels and buried the mess while Sally and Bunnie assessed Antoine's condition. Both agreed that he had probably contracted a virus on their latest romp to Robotropolis and decided that rest and a steady flow of fluids was all that was required.

When Amy started experiencing the same symptoms, a notice was put out to limit contact with anyone who was exhibiting signs of illness. Waste was incinerated instead of normal disposal and extra washing was promoted of utensils, clothing, and hands. As the virus continued to spread, Sally began to suspect that maybe this wasn't just a bad case of the flu. Two weeks passed as more and more residents of Knothole Village fell ill, prompting an investigation of the surrounding area. All missions to Robotropolis were restricted to absolute need only and supply runs. It wasn't until the first fatality that everyone really became worried.

That was four days ago. Sally sat at her desk in her hut staring at NICOLE, her handheld computer. NICOLE had analyzed blood samples from the one who died—a raccoon named Jeremy who was in his early twenties and reasonably healthy prior to becoming sick—in order to investigate the possibilities that maybe there was more to this virus than what was on the surface. Jeremy, as far as Sally knew, didn't have any autoimmune diseases or other infections at the time of his passing, nor was there any reason to believe fowl play or dehydration was involved. NICOLE reported back empty-handed.

Sally sighed, "Dammit."

She pushed the computer aside and placed a few drops of the sample onto a slide before placing it into her microscope. Sally examined the sample under the lens but didn't see anything on the surface—if she was going to analyze this, she was going to need a more powerful computer and microscope, both of which she did not have. Something like that existing in Robotropolis was even more farfetched.

Bunnie pushed open the chipmunk's door, knocking lightly.

"Sally girl?" she asked sweetly. "You wanted to see me, sugar?"

Sally shook her head, disappointed in the results that had yielded

"Nothing," she said. "I can't find one single goddamn thing in his bloodstream. NICOLE didn't report anything abnormal, either. I've checked his plasma, examined his bones… I'm no doctor, but I'm pretty confident I can spot something wrong in someone's bodily fluids or organs."

Bunnie walked over to Sally, her large green eyes saddened by the shortcoming in answers that plagued Sally and eventually all of Knothole.

She put her arm around Sally's shoulders, saying, "I'm so sorry sweetie… We'll get it, don't worry."

Sally wiped her eyes and sniffed.

"I hope so, Bunnie," she whispered. "I mean, Jeremy was strong, healthy, and this thing wiped him out like it was nobody's business. I've never seen anything like this… I mean: if it did that to him… imagine what it could do… to someone that's still a…"

"Don't think like that, Sally girl!" Bunnie whispered loudly. She squeezed Sally's shoulders and said, "We'll figure out what this… this nastiness is."

"I hope so, Bunnie," Sally said, picking up a framed photograph of Tails. "He's so young. I couldn't, no, _wouldn't_ forgive myself if anything happened to him."


	2. Promises, Promises

Tails sat on the log overlooking the lake of Knothole Village. Normally on a night like this he would be anticipating the release of a new Power Ring or fishing, but not tonight. Instead, he skipped stones carelessly across the water and sighed. Jeremy had succumbed to the sickness that was spreading through Knothole. He remembered the night he passed away vividly, a memory that he just couldn't shake: in his bed, covered in a sheet, washcloth on his head, the raccoon breathed a raspy breath. He looked over to Tails who was wearing a face mask to limit exposure and smiled.

"Hey champ," he said weakly, holding out his hand. He always called Tails "champ" because of Tails' uncanny ability to shoot a basketball like nobody's business, thus gaining him popularity—and some notoriety—within the athletic circles.

Tails took his hand and, fighting back the tears, managed to say, "How do you feel?"

"It'll be okay, big guy," Jeremy continued. "Just remember this: no matter what happens in life, you should always devote yourself to those you love most, even if it kills you. You get me?"

Tails murmured, "I… I don't understand…"

Jeremy smiled softly and closed his eyes.

"You'll… get it one day…"

And that was the last breath he ever took. Tails had never witnessed someone dying before his eyes before. The experience hit him like a ton of bricks, robbing him of every conceivable emotion that he would normally display in such a time of sadness. Instead, all he could do was walk out of Jeremy's hut. Rain had started to fall, almost poetically, that night he died. Tails took off his mask while some of the other Freedom Fighters entered to prepare the body. Sally was standing nearby, waiting for the young vulpine to come out. She put her arms around him and asked how he was holding up and if there was anything she could do. Tails simply shook his head and walked out of Sally's grasp aimlessly in a direction away from the village.

Now that more people were catching it, the pressure to find a cure for it increased tenfold. The leaders of the village were in constant discussion of what to do while trying to quarantine the sick. Children, like Tails, were instructed to stay far away from the quarantine area and to consistently keep washing their hands, gloves, and fur. He took a deep breath and sighed.

"Nice night for some fishing," a voice said above Tails' head.

He turned to see Sonic, his best almost since birth, climb over the log and take a seat. The blue hedgehog always had a knack for knowing when the child could use some company or guiding light, even if he was no more a teenager himself. Sonic smiled sadly at the brown fox.

"How's it going, big guy?" he asked gently.

Tails stared off into the water.

"It's going, I guess," he said with another sigh.

"You wanna talk? Sal's getting worried about you."

Tails shrugged, saying, "What's there to talk about? Jeremy's dead and who knows will be next."

Sonic put his hand on the fox's shoulder.

"Hey man, it's all right," he said. "We're going to get to the bottom of this. I promise."

Tails looked up into his older friend's green eyes.

"I wish I could believe you Sonic, I really do."

Saying that crushed Sonic. The hedgehog wiped his eyes and felt for the young boy next to him. Tails was growing up and time and circumstances were not going to wait. He was so mature for such a young age. Sonic recalled when he was eleven, reflecting on times when he tried to focus on the aspect of restoring the kingdom. Unlike Tails, Sonic had somewhat of a childhood before Robotnik robbed him of his family and the world he knew. Tails, on the other hand, only knew war, survival, and despair. The closest thing that he ever got to a normal routine was getting a story read to him by Sally.

Maybe those fantasies were what kept him going, Sonic thought.

Tails turned to him and said, "I hope you don't get sick."

Before Sonic could speak, however, a gripping pain pressed on his forehead. He grabbed his temple and moaned sharply.

"Sonic?!" Tails shouted.

Sonic fell over off the log and onto the cool grass, propped on his knees. Tails stepped back as the hedgehog emptied the contents of his stomach onto the ground while using the log as a prop to hold him up.

"DAMN man," Sonic breathed as saliva and vomit dripped from his lips. "That shit's nasty."

He pulled himself over the log.

"Gotta… get back to Knothole; help me, little buddy," he breathed.

Tails wept quietly as he took Sonic's arm and hoisted the hedgehog over his shoulders. This was a cruel joke being played by some benevolent deity, maybe what the Overlanders referred to as "God." One by one his friends, the ones he loved the most and meant anything to him, were going to die. Tails cursed repeatedly while Sonic dragged his weight, shifting between his right foot and his left which was being assisted by the young fox.

"Promises, promises," Tails said under his breath as tears ran down his face. "I'm tired of everyone's fucking promises."


	3. The Enemy of My Enemy

"Fever of forty degrees Celsius," Sally said, reading NICOLE's output.

Sonic was lying in his bed layered under four heavy blankets and fighting chills. A white rabbit named Monica kept applying cool cloths to his head in order to try and reduce the fever. Sally put NICOLE away and asked, "How are you feeling?"

Through frigid, teeth-chattering cold, Sonic managed to say, "F-f-f-fucking b-b-b-b-beautiful."

Sally sighed.

"I know it sucks. I'm working as hard as I can."

Sonic nodded. His arms wrapped around his body under the blankets to try and conserve what little heat he felt.

"I k-k-k-know you a-a-a-a-re, Sal…"

"Try to get some rest. Will you be OK, Monica?"

Monica nodded and continued tending to the sick hedgehog. As Sally exited his hut she heard him puke into a bucket placed next to his bed followed by an explicative. The princess returned to her workspace in the laboratory hut where the main computer was located. She sat down at the center table and slammed her fist down hard, rattling the pencils and pens that occupied the area.

Sally rubbed her eyes, trying desperately to focus on what could be causing the plague that had gripped knothole. Three more deaths were reported since Jeremy's passing: two adolescents and one child. While Sally loved all the children dearly, Tails held a special, protected place in her heart. She counted her blessings it wasn't him while at the same time feeling the urge to scream out to the sky.

Funeral pyres were becoming a norm around the village. Rotor had started construction on an incinerator to help speed up the process, but between building and tending to the sick, there wasn't much time devoted to the project. Sally wiped her eyes and took a deep breath.

"Aunt Sally?"

Sally looked to her left to see Tails standing next to her at eye level. She smiled sweetly.

The young boy asked, "Is Sonic going to be OK?"

Sally's smile disappeared.

"I… I don't know honey," she said softly. "We'll just have to wait and see."

"Wait and see for what?" Tails protested. "This is the worst thing I've ever seen—more worse than anything Robotnik has ever done—and we're seemingly helpless!"

Sally put her hands on Tails' shoulders and tried to console him.

"I know, honey," she said. "I'm trying everything I can to stop this—"

"But what if you can't; what if we're all going to die?!"

"Tails…"

Tears were welling up in the fox's eyes once more as he spoke.

"My parents, my home… everything… I read that humans once believed in this God person. They said that He was this loving and merciful being. Well… what the hell did we do to Him, huh?! You know what else I read? When people got mad, they would often curse his name. Well, you know what? God DAMN HIM! GOD DAMN HIM AND GOD DAMN THIS VIRUS!"

Tails ducked out of Sally's grasp and ran out of the lab. Sally called after him, her voice breaking as she slumped to her knees. Though she was on the verge of an emotional breakdown herself, she managed to pull herself up off the floor and to the door, continually calling after the angst-ridden child. Out of the lab and into the village Sally ran until she came to an immediate stop.

Tails was standing in the middle of the path, frozen with fear. He was so still like his breath had been taken violently from his body. Sally ran up behind him, asking, "Tails, what on earth…?"

Sally trailed off. What she saw before her made her gasp and cover her mouth. Without blinking, she stepped in front of Tails and ordered him to go get the others. Tails remained in place like stone for a few tense moments before coming back to reality and slowly stepping away before making a mad dash for help. Standing before her was not an animal like her, nor was it a robot.

Dressed in a brown camouflaged boonie hat, tattered tan flak jacket, dark green shirt, and stained, ripped khaki pants was a man. He took a long drag on what was left of his cigarette before dropping it onto the ground and extinguishing it with one of his heavy black boots. His face was chiseled and rough, unshaven and scarred. His eyes were a dull emerald color; his hair was short and dirty blonde in color, matching his moustache and goatee. In an accent that Sally knew all too well, the stranger spoke.

"I'm looking for Bunnie Rabbot," he said in the same accent shared with the rabbit in question.

Sally furrowed her brow, asking, "Who the hell are you? How did you find us?"

"I'm not an Overlander if that's what you're asking."

He was right—he was too tall to be considered an Overlander, standing at roughly five-foot-ten by Sally's guess.

"That still doesn't answer who you are or how you found us," the princess retorted.

"Well I didn't find you on a fucking map, genius," the human said, slightly annoyed. "It took a lot of asking and payment to find you. As far as my identity: that's not important. Now, are you going to let me see Bunnie or am I going to have to find her myself?"

Rotor's voice came from behind Sally: "Is everything OK Sal…!"

He immediately stopped midsentence at the sight of the human that Sally encountered. He stood by her side, his internal defenses up.

The stranger seemed amused.

"How old are you all, anyway?" he asked curiously.

"Old enough to know we can't trust shits like you," Rotor said sharply. "Get lost."

"It's alright guys," Bunnie called from behind Sally and Rotor. Her tone turned flat as she said, "I know this one; let 'em through."

Sally turned to Rotor with a confused expression—Bunnie knew this guy? Rotor shrugged and the two separated, allowing the human to step between them and then towards the center of Knothole Village. The stranger carried a backpack, a machete, and a rifle of some sort. Sally stared at the gun and noticed that it was a traditional weapon like some used in the Great War; another relic humans clung onto to survive. This one in particular had a scope on it: was he a hunter of some sort?

When they made it to the center of the village, Bunnie stood by with her arms crossed and her gaze narrow. Other members of the village that weren't tending to the sick or working stood by, unsure of what to expect. Many had never seen an authentic human before, especially out this far. The sight of the gun made many uneasy, especially Bunnie.

"Get rid of your rifle," she said. "Ain't nobody you gotta kill out here… and the blade, too."

The human outstretched his arms as Rotor came up from behind and removed the items from the stranger's possession as well as the backpack.

"What do you want?" Bunnie asked.

The human crossed his arms and cocked his head back.

"Rumor has it y'all have a flu epidemic, 'cept it ain't no flu," he said. "My colony's experiencing the same thing."

"Too bad, so sad, sugar: I've done cried all my tears long ago."

The human turned to Rotor and said, "Open the bag. Don't worry—it's not gonna explode."

Rotor gingerly unzipped the black knapsack and pulled out a plastic intravenous solution bag filled with a clear liquid.

"So you brought us saltwater," Bunnie said, unimpressed. "We've got plenty of that, genius."

"That ain't saltwater you dumbass, so I suggest y'all mind your manners," the stranger quipped. "That's the cure to whatever the hell this is that's affecting this part of the continent."

Sally stepped forward and said, "How generous, but why bring us one bag? Are you suggesting you know where to get more?"

The human nodded, saying, "Afraid so, and I need help getting more."

"You've got your own people, you don't need us; just tell us where it is and we'll get it ourselves," Bunnie protested.

"That's the problem. Most of my town is infected. I'm the only one capable of going."

"Wait," Sally said. "How do you even know this stuff works? Where did it come from?"

The stranger chewed on the inside of his mouth for a second.

"Couple of weeks ago we noticed people started getting sick like yours. One of the kids reported seeing a strange camp that had set up shop not far from the village not long before that. I and another fella decided to check it out. Turns out your good friend Robotnik hasn't forgotten about us and decided to take the sneaky route and introduce a biological agent. We raided the camp but they had already left, but when they did they apparently left in a hurry and left most of their shit behind. I found a couple of these bags and lots of notes, one of which I think you'll find interesting…"

He reached into his pocket and produced a multiple-folded piece of paper. He tossed it in front of Bunnie's feet. She reached down and picked it up, carefully unfolding it. She read the report silently before stopping on something of particular interest.

"This can't be…" she said in disbelief.

"It's plausible," the human continued. "She would know how to do it."

Bunnie wiped tears away from her eyes and turned away. Sally ran forth and took Bunnie's arm.

"Bunnie, what's wrong?" she asked.

Bunnie showed Sally the paper, saying, "Sally… this… this says that a vaccine to this chemical warfare agent was created by Lulumae Rabbot."

"Lulumae… you don't mean…"

Bunny nodded silently.

"My aunt, Sally," she whispered. "I… I haven't seen her since I left her and Uncle Beauregard all those years ago."

"So now I must ask: what's your relation to… him?" Sally asked, motioning towards the human.

Bunnie closed her eyes as her expression hardened.

"His name is Wade Hallman," she said quietly. "He… he was a double-agent during the war. He knew my parents and was real good friends with my aunt and uncle. He can't be trusted, Sally-girl: he's a very, very bad man."

"I'm still standing here, sweetie," Wade called. "You can run me into the ground all you want, but the fact remains that we've got to check this out."

Bunnie turned to face him.

"Why take me though? Why can't you go alone?" she asked. "If she's working for Robotnik…"

"It's not like I can just go knock on the front door. I need your help getting in there. More so, I'm not even sure if that fat piece of shit is responsible for this in the first place—he's just a hunch. If it's not him, then we're back at square one, except maybe your uncle Beau would probably know."

"Sounds to me like you're just looking to get some leverage on them," Bunnie said brazenly.

Wade smiled and took out another cigarette, saying, "I always like that about you: you never did beat around the bush. So, how about it: you in?"

Bunnie turned back to Sally, disdain and confusion in her eyes.

"Sally, I don't know what to say," she said on the verge of cracking. "I can't trust him, but we need _something_ to treat this… I just don't know…"

Sally took a deep breath.

"I know, Bunnie," she said in her most comforting voice, putting her hands on the rabbit's back and shoulder. "But what choice do we have? It's the only thing we've got going so far."

Bunnie looked back to Wade who was silently smoking.

"I guess I have no choice," she said, looking down at the ground.

"Go pack a bag," Wade said. "Where's my stuff?"

Rotor tossed the soldier his bag and blade. He looked around but couldn't locate the rifle he had confiscated earlier.

"Hey, um," Rotor said sheepishly. "Anyone seen…"

Tails emerged from the crowd carrying the gun in his hands. He walked calmly up to Wade and looked up at the tortured soul before him.

"If you hurt her, I'll kill you," Tails said simply.

There were numerous gasps and whispers within the village. Sally stared in utter shock along with Bunny. Wade stared into the blue eyes of the two-tailed fox before taking a long drag off his cigarette. He took it out of his mouth and flicked it away before kneeling down and blowing a large billow of smoke in Tails' face.

"And what makes you think you can do that, son?" Wade asked darkly.

Within the blink of an eye, Tails took the stock of the rifle and slapped Wade across the face. The blow was enough to send Wade into the ground. However, being the trained killer that he was, the ghost of Bunnie's past quickly tumbled over onto his feet and reached for his ankle. Tails immediately stepped forward and pointed the gun right in Wade's face. Wade froze, staring darkly into the determined blue eyes of Tails.

"Don't," Tails said sharply.

Wade asked distantly, "How do you know that gun's loaded, son?"

Tails quickly pointed the gun to the right of Wade's face and pulled the trigger. A loud bang filled the air and echoed throughout the forest. Wade fell over, clutching his ears from the explosion that had taken place right next to his face. Tails placed his sneakered foot onto the man's chest and placed the barrel of the gun into Wade's throat. After bolting another round into the chamber, Tails spoke.

"Because I loaded it myself," he said.

He took the gun and threw it into the grass before walking off. Wade got back onto his knees and regained his senses. After dusting himself off and rising to his feet, he stared after the fox. The rest of the village looked at Tails before turning slowly and looking at Wade, anxiously awaiting his next move. Wade immediately marched up to Bunnie and pointed at the vulpine.

"He's coming with us," Wade ordered.

Bunnie stared at him, unsure of what she just heard.

"W-what?!" she stuttered.

Wade stood up straight and lit another cigarette.

"That boy… not only is his balls bigger than Robotnik's ass, but he has something inside him… something that he needs to embrace."

"Wait," Sally protested. "You can't be serious? He's only, like, eleven. You can't just take an eleven year old _child _out there, especially not to Robotropolis!"

Wade turned to the princess.

"I'm not asking for permission," he said gruffly before taking a puff.


	4. Give Me a Sign

"Tails, you don't have to go, sweetie," Sally pleaded helplessly.

The brown fox, on the other hand, continued to pack his backpack relentlessly.

"I'll be fine, Aunt Sally," he said calmly. "It's better than sitting around here watching everyone die, anyway."

"We don't even know if this so-called vaccine Wade gave us is any good though, Honey; it could be some elaborate ploy that Robotnik or, hell, even someone more sinister that we've never heard of came up with in an effort to get to Bunnie or, worse, the entire village. Have you even stopped to consider that?"

Tails zipped up his bag and slid into it. He turned to face Sally who, feigning utter exhaustion, was still trying desperately to keep the boy at home where she thought he was safe.

"I'm not going because I want to," he said, looking down at the wooden floor of his hut. "But because I _have _to."

Sally shook her head.

"You don't _have_ to do anything," she cried. "We need you—I need you—here."

Tails looked up fiercely.

"To do what?" he barked. "All you adults have ever done is push me into the corner or have me watch after the younger ones. I don't contribute anything at all to these people and that's wrong. You need to stay here and take care of Antoine, Sonic, all the others that are sick. I need to do this… _please_…!"

Sally started sobbing uncontrollably as Tails lowered his gaze once more, this time in shame.

"I, I'm sorry—", he began to say.

"No," Sally interrupted. "Don't say it."

She stood up and turned her back to him, crossing her arms.

Between heavy sniffles, gasps, and crying, she uttered, "Go on, go out there and get yourself killed. That's what your parents would've wanted."

Tails looked up at Sally. She didn't turn around. He couldn't understand why she had become so hateful all of a sudden. He had never seen the princess like this to say the least. Whatever her reasoning, though, maybe she was right? Tails shook his head and silently walked by her, not even bothering to look back at her as he made his way to the entrance of the village. After Tails was out of sight, Sally sat down on the edge of his bed and cried harder, pounding her forehead with her fists. She picked up the books on his nightstand that she would read to him and threw them across the hut in a fit of rage. They shattered the boy's mirror on his dresser before collapsing to the floor with soft thuds. Not satisfied with the release, Sally kicked over his nightstand, destroying his lamp and breaking apart the furniture that once held it up.

Out of wind, the princess fell face first into the fox's bed and buried her face into the sheets, weeping loudly. Her promise to protect the citizens of Knothole Village was being ripped apart left and right; here, the only child of one of her father's most respected warriors whose wife was also a council member in the kingdom's parliament. Sally wanted the roof to cave in and have the four walls of the small hut collapse on top of her, hopefully killing her and putting an end to this madness.

* * *

"You sure this'll work?" Rotor asked, examining the components that Wade handed over.

"Not really," Wade said flatly. "But it's the only thing we've got going for us. Unlike traditional land signals, this one will transmit its signal into an old orbiting piece-of-shit relic left over from our ancestors. Well, I take that back: my ancestors—yours were on a beach eating fish and doing stupid animal tricks."

Rotor rolled his eyes.

Wade took a deep breath and continued, "Anyway, this signal is encrypted so only those with this specific hardware will be able to pick it up. So you know what this means?"

"What?" Rotor asked.

"DON'T FUCK IT UP, GENIUS."

"Alright, geez."

Wade helped Rotor assemble the satellite antenna and placed it onto the roof of the laboratory hut. Running a wire into the makeshift receiver inside, Rotor took the microphone.

"Tails? Can you hear me?" he asked.

Tails' voice crackled over the radio: "Yeah, I read you."

"I read you, too, sugar," Bunnie's voice followed. "We ready?"

Wade inserted his earpiece. The microphone on the headset was configured to pick up the vibrations in the user's voice eliminating the need for a full frontal boom mike. It wasn't perfect, but it worked. He turned to Rotor once more and said, "There are certain spots where we may not be able to get signal. Whatever you do, do _not _go to analog or other terrestrial methods. Understood?"

The walrus gave a firm nod before the soldier walked out. As he walked back towards the entrance of Knothole Village, Wade recalled his constant battle to stop children from fighting a man's war: too many lives have already been claimed that could've been saved. Many women, children, elderly, and disabled from all races had fallen to the bloodshed over the decades. He sighed, knowing it wasn't his place to tell these creatures how to live their lives. However, Wade wasn't about to stick his neck out too far for them, and he didn't want the same in return. He had his reasons and they were good enough to enforce strict boundaries.

Bunnie had changed from her normal pink leotard into a simple black short-sleeved midriff. Her robotic arm and legs were well polished and oiled, primed for battle. Tails was next to her with his bag slung over his left shoulder. Wade approached, cigarette lit and parked between his cracked lips, unzipping his bag.

"I've got some things for you two before we head out," he said.

Wade tossed a pair of night vision goggles to the rabbit and fox. He slipped off his rifle and handed it to Tails.

Looking down at the young boy, Wade said sternly, "You're going to need this one."

Tails took the gun, looked at it in disbelief, then looked back up.

"W-why?" he asked sheepishly.

Ignoring him, Wade then turned to Bunnie. Kneeling down onto one knee, he lifted up his pants leg, revealing a semiautomatic handgun. The stainless steel barrel was scratched and the wooden grips' luster lost, but the initials "WJH" remained strong and clear on the slide. He removed the gun from its holster and handed it to Bunnie.

"Remember this?" he said.

Bunnie swallowed hard and took the gun. She nodded silently.

"You were the best shot I had ever seen, more so than Thom with his rifle," Wade said, motioning towards Tails. "Here, here's a shoulder holster you can use."

He pulled out a brown leather shoulder holster and helped Bunnie slip into it. After snapping the back suspenders into place, Bunnie slid the gun into its holster and some spare clips into the ammo sleeves provided by Wade.

"You better take a good look at this place," Wade said deeply. "This may be the last time you ever set foot in here. Just remember: if we fail, they die. Got it? Let's move."

As they started to walk away from the village, Tails stopped and took one last look at the only home he ever knew. It was nightfall again, roughly twenty-four hours since he was once sitting on his favorite log by the lake when Sonic came to see him and became afflicted with the virus. Fast forward a whole day and here he was carrying a high-powered rifle on a mission that could end up with him being the only one to make it back, if at all. Given all that had happened, he considered whether he was thinking straight. No, Tails thought; I can't fall victim to that sort of reasoning. This was a matter of being driven by instinct, his primal instinct to stay alive. Sally wasn't getting anywhere with the limited resources she had and nobody else was in the shape to help.

"Goodbye everyone… goodbye Aunt Sally," he whispered.

As he started to turn to follow the others, Tails could've swore he saw Sally out of the corner of his eye standing in the center of the village watching them leave, crying. He pressed on, however, knowing that if he turned around to face her now, he would never leave.


	5. My Hero

Tails walked along silently, keeping his gaze focused on the ground and the back legs of Bunnie and Wade. He strapped the rifle the best he could—considering it was almost the same size as him in length—over his shoulder. He looked down at his new gloves given to him by the strange man that had initiated the journey: they were black and leather with the words "MARINES" written across the side. Wade called them "tactical gloves" because of all the strange grips and padding they had on them; it felt really weird. Unlike Bunnie's pair, Tails' pair had no coverings for his fingers. He thought this was very strange: why would gloves come with no fingers? And for one thing, who were these "Marines?"

The moon hung high overhead. There were no clouds in the sky tonight and the stars shone brightly. Springtime was approaching and the air had gotten a little warmer, but not by much. Tails shivered a little and began to rub his arms in order to keep warm. Bunnie heard the fox getting cold and started walking beside him, putting her normal arm around him.

"You keeping up, sugar?" she asked sweetly.

Tails looked up into the emerald eyes of the rabbit and close confidant of Princess Sally. He gave a small nod.

"Yeah… just cold," Tails said sheepishly.

Bunnie kissed him gently on the side of his forehead.

"You'll be fine, honey," she encouraged.

"Why did this man want me to come, anyway?"

Ahead of them, Wade said sharply, "Because you nearly killed me, that's why. I ain't about to let you off the hook for that until you prove to me you're old enough to understand something that's worth dying for."

"What's that supposed to mean?" the fox asked.

Wade stopped and turned around.

"I saw it in your eyes, kid: you're not some ordinary youngster who eats other people's shit for long before he's had enough. You're a hard bastard, I'll tell you that now. You want to stop Robotnik, I know that—it doesn't take a team of anthropologists studying your village to come to that conclusion—but you're stuck. Nobody wants to give you a chance to prove your worth. Well, here it is, son: it's time to put that killer instinct that comes with your species to good use."

Tails looked at him curiously.

Wade turned around and kept walking. The vulpine and rabbit continued as well.

"They probably didn't tell you what your kind was like before the mutation. Foxes are cunning, elusive, often portrayed in folklore as tricksters and manipulators. The mutation may have made you critters more human, but you can't deny who you once were…"

He looked down at the ground, finishing with, "…much in the same way I can't deny who I once was."

"If you're looking for sympathy," Bunny chided. "You're barking up the wrong tree."

Wade immediately spun around and leaned towards her. Bunnie's eyes widened as she froze still, pushing Tails behind her for protection.

"Let's get one thing straight," he said. "I ain't looking for sympathy from anybody or anyone, especially not from some goddamn thankless rabbit who thinks she knows what war and terror is. As far as you're concerned I'm just some bad memory you wish you could erase, but let me tell you something: next time you lay that pretty little head of yours down to sleep, consider how many nights as a kid your uncle and I spent watching the village to make sure that you and your aunt 'Nilla lived to see another day."

Wade concluded by spitting off to the side in disgust. He turned and continued walking the trail. Bunnie stood still for a moment as she regained her composure. Tails took her hand and the two caught back up to Wade. After a mile, Bunnie finally worked up the courage to speak up.

"I'm sorry, Wade," she said softly.

There wasn't a response.

"Hey, did—"

"I heard you," he interrupted. "How much further till we reach the outskirts of Robotropolis?"

"At the rate we're going, I estimate another two hours."

"And the inner city?"

Bunnie shrugged, "Another thirty, I guess."

"Let's take a break, then," Wade said. "I'm sure y'all are exhausted, anyway; won't do us any good if you can't concentrate."

A clearing about fifty yards off the main path exiting the Great Forest became the trio's temporary campsite. Wade dropped his gear and propped himself against a log. Bunnie turned on a small battery-powered lantern and set it near the center of the group. Tails gently placed his rifle on the ground and sat down next to Bunnie across from Wade. Pointing to the gloves, he asked, "Mr. Hallman?"

"One second son," Wade said. "I need to check in with the village. Overlord, this is Mad Dog."

Rotor's voice crackled over the radio receiver in their ears: "Overlord copies; go ahead."

"How's everyone holding up?"

"Uh," Rotor said, uneasily. "Well… we almost had another one go. It was a close call, but we managed to keep them alive. What's your location?"

"We're two hours from the edge. Stopping here for the night; what time is it?"

"Oh-one-hundred and three," Rotor said. "What time can we expect you back on the move?"

Wade thought for a moment before saying, "Two hours. I don't think these two will enter R.E.M. sleep but I need them to be somewhat energized. We'll collect rations from Robotropolis."

"Copy that. By the way: Tails, someone wants to say something to you."

Tails looked up as the sound of the microphone being moved across the table echoed throughout the earpieces.

"Hey big guy," Sonic's voice came over weakly. "How're you holding up?"

Tails smiled the best he could, given the circumstances.

"So far so good," he said. "How about you?"

Sonic coughed.

"Let's just say that the mere thought of a chili dog makes me want to puke. Oh God…"

The microphone was quickly passed back as the sound of the blue hedgehog retching could be heard in the background.

"Sorry about that," Rotor said as he came back over the air.

Wade sighed, "It's okay, son. We're going to radio silence for now."

"Overlord copies all. Have a good break."

Wade turned off his transmitter and instructed Bunnie and Tails to do the same. Producing a metal canteen from his backpack, the weathered soldier unscrewed the cap and took a swig before tossing it to Tails. Tails looked at the canister before looking at Wade.

"Is this…?" he began to ask.

"Are you out of your mind? No," Wade said brashly. "I may have said you've got big balls, but having nuts that could tea-bag a pachyderm doesn't mean you can hold an ounce of alcohol. It's water."

Tails felt stupid as he unscrewed the cap and took a gulp of the cold liquid. As he passed it to Bunnie, he asked about his gloves. Wade leaned back on the log and pulled his hat down over his eyes.

"The Marines were a fighting force that this planet had centuries ago. One of my ancestors was one even; hell, me and a group of guys back in my town were trying to bring them back since we could really use a fighting force like that. Who knows? Maybe we'll succeed. Now, I suggest getting some sleep because I'm going to wake your two furry asses up in one hundred and twenty minutes."

With  
that, Wade became quiet. Tails looked at Bunnie as she made a makeshift pillow out of her backpack. As she laid her head down, she extended her arms and motioned for Tails.

"Come here, sweetie," she said.

Tails snuggled up next to her as she put her arms around him. Tails' mind raced with anticipation—he was _so _close to Robotropolis and was going to be given a task where people depended on him. Or at least he hoped. More so, he hoped that Robotnik would have the cure that Wade had obtained. But what was this business with Bunnie's aunt? Lastly, were they going to make it back in time? Were they going to make it out alive?

"Aunt Bunnie?" he whispered.

Bunnie whispered back, "What is it, sugar?"

"How do you know this man? Did he really protect you when you were a kid?"

She looked over at Wade who was now lightly snoring.

"He was once my hero," Bunnie sighed.

"And now?' Tails asked.

"I… I don't really know, to be honest. There was a time when I trusted my life with him. Now I don't even trust him fast asleep a few feet away. A part of me wants to take that blade of his and shove it up his ass so far it would split his turds in half. The other just wants to hold onto him and ask why…"

"Ask why for what?"

Bunnie kissed Tails on the cheek, whispering in his ear, "It doesn't matter sugar. Now, try and get some sleep. We're going to have to get up in two hours."

Tails gave a small nod before nuzzling into Bunnie. He felt her close her eyes but couldn't close his. Instead, he watched Wade, the man's chest rising and falling rhythmically. He looked back at his gloves. Maybe after this whole ordeal was over he could go to Wade's village and join his Marine group. Then they'd be able to take down Robotnik and return everything to the way it was supposed to be… whatever that was. All these thoughts began to take their toll on the young boy and his eyes felt heavy. Before he knew it, he was sound asleep, listening to the heart beating in Bunnie's chest.


	6. One Good Reason

Robotropolis was a dank, metallic wasteland where nightmares went to die and reemerge as something even more sinister. The pollution generated by the numerous robotic factories blocked out any aspect of sky overhead, giving the city a constant dark overlay. Narrow alleys and streets that were once the pinnacle city Mobotropolis were long forgotten into scrap piles and SWATbot patrols. The only true "living" organisms that inhabited this wasteland found their residence in the center of the city inside the central command post, a towering metal skyscraper shaped like a somewhat deformed egg.

Wade took out his cigarette and flicked it aside.

"Never thought I'd have to step foot back here," he said. "Night vision goggles on."

The trio put on their goggles and switched on the power. A high pitched squeal emitted from the devices as the lenses powered on, enabling the viewers to see objects and infrared beams in minimal lighting. Below them was a service path used to make deliveries to the main control tower where Robotnik called home.

Wade turned to Tails and said, "Alright son, now's your chance to actually use that gun on somebody."

Tails looked down at the rifle in his hands. The cold, black barrel and camouflaged paint job started to scare him a little. This wasn't the time to turn into a big fat pussy, he thought.

"Lie down on your stomach and get a good view of the area through the scope."

Tails did as instructed, adjusting the sighting on the scope to put it into focus.

"Tell me what you see," Wade said.

"Aerial patrols seem to be more concerned with the open spaces," the fox said. He scanned a few more areas around the path before saying, "There're no foot patrols?"

"Oh, they're out there, sugar," Bunnie said.

Wade gave a nod, saying, "OK, here's the plan: Tails, you're going to cover us as we make our way in there. Whatever you do, do _not _move from this spot unless you've been spotted. If you've been spotted, keep running in zigzag motions and try to find a place to hide. They shouldn't be able to pick up your heat signature from this high up but you never know. Lastly, do _not _shoot unless I tell you we need it. Understand?"

Tails scratched the back of his head, "I-I think so…"

"There's no thinking about this son; you either have it or you don't."

"OK, I got it."

Bunnie gave Tails a strong hug and kissed him on the cheek.

"Stay safe, sugar," she said quietly. "We'll be back soon."

"Overlord, this is Mad Dog," Wade radioed.

"Overlord copies; go ahead," Sally's voice responded.

Tails felt a little uneasy hearing Sally over the radio given that their departure wasn't exactly the greatest.

"We're about to commence infiltration. Fox is in place and Rabbit is going to cover my six."

"Copy that. Good luck."

Wade and Bunnie jumped off the ledge and slid down the embankment of garbage and scraps onto a large drainage pipe that was parallel to the road. Tails watched as the two peered around a concrete wall before jumping off the pipe and onto the concrete driveway. Wade had pulled out another gun from his bag earlier, one he called an "MP5"—dubbed "another relic from the Great War." As Tails monitored their progress, he heard Sally come back over the radio.

"Overlord to Fox," she said quietly.

"Fox copies," Tails said nervously. "Go ahead."

There was silence.

"Never mind," Sally said before clicking off.

Tails sighed and rubbed his eyes. Growing up was hard enough as it was and now he had to contend with the imminent threat of being captured and roboticized. Below in the distance, Wade and Bunnie were counting on him to keep them safe and provide cover. While most children came into adulthood through a gradual process, Tails felt like he was catapulted into this rite of passage. Strangely enough, as before, his emotions were hardened and his perseverance fierce. He had never felt like this before, this level of power and control. At the same time, he was scared shitless.

Tails resumed his duty through his scope. The sooner that got this over, the sooner he could go home.

* * *

Wade and Bunnie crept along the wide passage, avoiding overhead lights and any security systems that were in place.

Tails' voice quickly came over the radio saying, "Overhead patrol coming your way."

Wade immediately grabbed Bunnie by her non-robotic arm and fell backwards into a dark alley. Overhead, a patrol unit in a small reconnaissance carrier that resembled an escape pod for a space shuttle flew by slowly, searchlight scanning every square inch of the road. Wade went back up the wall and slowly peeked, watching the robotic sentry fly away towards another direction.

"Nice job, son," he said, communicating to Tails.

Tails didn't respond.

Bunnie and Wade continued their slow approach to the control center.

"What do we do if Robotnik doesn't have the vaccine?" Bunnie asked. "What if you were wrong and it wasn't him? Are we going to have time to make it to Uncle Beauregard?"

"I'm sure Julian wouldn't mind if we 'borrowed' some transportation," Wade said. "I can be very… persuasive."

"I hope so."

They reached the loading bay without incident. A dull mercury lamp hummed over the metal loading bay door as Wade hopped up onto the concrete loading platform. He reached down and helped Bunnie up after him.

"Fox," he said. "Can you still see us?"

"Copy that," Tails responded.

"We're going in. I don't know how long we're going to be, but when we come out get ready to put that gun to good use. Julian doesn't like unannounced visitors."

Wade turned to Bunnie and gave her a hand gesture to initiate entry. Bunnie reached down with her robotic arm and took hold of the roll-up door. With what seemed like an effortless attempt, she rolled the door up enough to allow entry. Once they entered, she lowered it back down so not to cause suspicion.

The inside of the loading bay was lit well enough to eliminate the need for night vision. Wade and Bunnie pushed their goggles onto their brow and crouched down low. Roboticized Mobians were working without interruption servicing hovercrafts, machinery, and building other robots. Bunnie let out a disdained sigh at the sight. Wade rubbed her back gently.

"I know, sugar," he said. "Just remember: we're not here for that today."

She closed her eyes and nodded.

The two slowly crept behind stacks of boxes and machinery, out of the robots' line of sight. A freight elevator was located at the opposite end of the warehouse; unfortunately, there was no cover between there and where they were located. In the middle of the wall was a large set of electronic doors: should they try sneaking without cover, there was a possibility that workers could emerge through the doors and draw all the attention. Likewise, taking out a robot would bring down the entire facility on their backs.

"I'm getting too old for this shit," Wade muttered.

Bunnie looked up at the ceiling. Overhead, there were numerous cranes and pulley systems to help maneuver the machinery. She looked at the wall they were currently propped against and saw a service ladder that led all the way up to the ceiling. Bunnie nudged Wade and pointed at the ladder, then at the ceiling.

"You sure about this?" he asked.

"It's the only thing we got going for us," she said. "Come on."

Bunnie holstered her gun and climbed the ladder followed by Wade. The ceiling was over one hundred feet off the ground; large, LED lights housed in aluminum cages hung below the framework that held the floor up. Bunnie climbed onto the truss system and started making her way across the factory floor. Wade took a deep breath and followed slowly after her. About halfway across the floor, Bunnie stopped.

"We've got a problem," she radioed.

Wade looked up at her and asked, "What?"

"Look over there."

He looked down at the service elevator: it was being called away to a different floor.

"Oh, you're fucking kidding me," he grumbled. "Keep going. We can hide in the corner over there."

Bunnie nodded and continued working her way across the truss by swinging on the beams underneath it. Wade sighed heavily and resumed his pace when he noticed something coming Bunnie's way. Before he could react or even alert her to the impending danger, Bunnie was knocked off the truss by a large crane mast. The blow knocked the rabbit off of the truss but not enough to knock her unconscious. She immediately grabbed onto the mast and worked her way onto the top of it. Even though she wasn't out cold, Bunnie was experiencing some serious side effects of having the shit knocked out of her.

"Hang on!" Wade shouted.

He immediately swung underneath the truss and started climbing it upside down like a rope obstacle. Bunnie kept a firm hold onto the crane the best she could. By the time Wade got to the location where Bunnie was knocked off, the operator below was returning the crane to where it once was. Wade got above the truss and waited. As the heavy equipment came below him, he reached down and grabbed Bunnie by the waist. Bunnie was lucid enough to reach up and put her non-robotic arm around Wade's neck.

Bunnie's head rolled from side to side as she tried to regain her senses.

Wade whispered to her anxiously, "Hang on, darlin'."

Slowly he maneuvered Bunnie onto his chest and instructed her to wrap her arms and legs around him. She did as instructed as he lowered himself underneath the truss and resumed traversing it. When they reached the service ladder on the opposite side of the warehouse, Wade slowly slid down the ladder with Bunnie still latched onto his neck. Upon hitting the floor, he ran to the corner behind palettes of boxes and laid her on the floor.

"Speak to me sweetie," Wade said while checking her for broken bones. "Are you still with me?"

Bunnie swallowed hard and nodded slowly.

"My head is killing me," she said.

"You may have had a small concussion."

Bunnie slowly started to sit up, saying, "I'll… I'll be fine."

Wade helped her to her feet.

He said, "Given the circumstances, I'm afraid we have no choice."

He snuck away and pressed the call button on the elevator before returning to Bunnie's side. Bunnie rested her head on Wade's shoulder, trying not to focus so much on the pain.

"Why did you come for me, anyway?" she asked.

"What do you mean?"

"You found your way to Knothole all the way from God-knows-where, knowing damn good and well that you could've been killed out there. How did you know we had the sickness, anyway?"

Wade signed.

"My village is a lot closer than you think," he said. "And I could tell y'all had the sickness because of all the pyres. You should know that I'll never forget the smell of burnt fur. You've also got some citizens in your town that have no qualms with making a few bucks here and there."

It was Bunnie's turn to sigh.

Wade leaned back.

He continued, "As far as why you, well… if it is Lulumae, I only thought it proper that you should deal with it as well."

"Thanks," Bunnie said sincerely.

"I honestly don't know if your aunt is in on this whole mess or not, Bunnie. If she is, I'm sorry—there's probably a damn good reason she would be but I can't think of any right now—and if she ain't, then we'll find out who and why. Those who use biological agents are very evil people who have no qualms about who or what they kill. Hey, the elevator's here, let's go."

Wade helped Bunnie to her feet and the two slowly made their way into the freight elevator. Wade closed the gate and pressed the button to go to the highest possible floor from their location. Bunnie sat down and held onto her head, trying to keep from passing out. Wade raised his gun and cocked the first bullet into place.

"Wade?" Bunnie asked.

He turned around and looked down at her watering jade eyes.

"Can I ask you why…? You know…"

Wade turned back around and looked at the shop floor as the elevator began to rise.

"Not right now, sweetheart," he said softly. "Not right now."


	7. From Bad to Worse

As the elevator came to a stop, Bunnie looked up at Wade. He motioned for her to scoot next to the door where the gate would obstruct her.

"Wait here," he instructed after she took her spot.

Wade opened the gate slowly and walked out, sweeping the area with his submachine gun throughout the area. They were in a darkened hallway; the only light source being service lights on the walls every hundred yards. Wade pulled down his night-vision goggles and switched them on; Bunnie did likewise. She watched through the green tint of the lenses as Wade made his way to a doorway. He punched a few numbers on the keypad—the keypad chirped and the door opened without altercation. Bunnie continued to watch as he leapt inside the room. The sound of SWATbot lasers being fired emitted from the opening followed by gunfire and radio chatter. One of the robots was tossed out into the hallway, slamming into the wall hard enough to remove its head from its shoulders. Bunnie gasped and gripped her gun tightly as gunfire erupted from the room.

Two SWATbots emerged from the room, pointing their built-in laser weapons towards Wade inside. Bunnie took aim and shot the one closest to her seventy feet away. The machine's optical sensor exploded as a bullet ripped through its metal skull before falling over completely. The second robot turned and started to take aim in her direction. Bunnie fired off three shots that opened a gaping hole in the mechanical torso. The automaton fell backwards on top of the other one that had been destroyed. Wade emerged shortly after and started walking backwards towards Bunnie, keeping his gun trained on the hallway ahead.

"Come on," he said. "More will be coming. I found us a lift to Robotnik's private quarters."

Reaching down, Bunnie took the gloved, calloused hand of Wade. He placed his hand under her opposite arm and lifted the girl up onto her robotic feet.

"How long have you been like this?" he asked.

Bunnie looked down, saying, "It's been so long, sugar, that I figure I must've been born with them by now."

Wade didn't say anything. It was awfully strange of him to make a comment like that; Bunnie pondered he must've figured she would've been fully roboticized by now.

He finally said quietly, "If Thom was still around, he'd know how to get you out of that."

Bunnie looked back up at his face: Wade was still focused on the hallway in front of them.

"Is there another reason you came to Knothole?" she asked abruptly.

Wade stopped at the door he opened and led her inside. After punching in a code on the opposite side, the metal door slid shut. He stepped back.

"Might want to cover your ears, sweetheart," he said.

Without warning, Wade fired violently at the control panel. Bullets ripped apart the computerized gatekeeper; sparks and smoke began to flow freely from the orifice in the wall.

"And to answer your question," Wade continued with a heavy sigh. "I wanted to see if the rumors were true."

He wiped his eyes and turned to look at her, gazing down at her metal lower half.

"They were only half-right."

* * *

Tails rested his head on his arm as he kept the rifle pointed at the doorway. Lying flat on his stomach on the cold dirt watching the minutes tick by probably bored some of the other Freedom Fighters to the point of tears, but not him: he was on high alert. The lack of sleep, though, was catching up to him. Even when snuggled up in Bunnie's arms, the boy couldn't get his mind to stop racing. The most prominent questions in his mind concerned that of the so-called "cure" that Wade had brought and how it was being currently distributed followed by Sally's cryptic communication to him earlier. He hoped that whatever the case, nobody else had died yet and that Sally wasn't mad at him anymore.

Tails wanted to cry every time he thought about the fierce gaze and attitude Sally gave him when he left. He couldn't understand: what was her deal? Knothole Village _needed _him as much as they needed Sonic for all the times and assaults on Robotropolis in times past.

"Fox to Overlord," he said quietly, so not to attract attention from any possible patrols.

Silence.

"Overlord?"

After a few moments, a very weak and very breathless sounding Antoine came over the air.

"_Oui_, this is Overlord," he said, laced with his heavy French accent.

Tails was both extraordinarily surprised that Antoine was still alive and that they had put him on radio watch.

"Antoine!" he shouted in a whisper. "What are you doing on the radio?"

Antoine coughed a few times.

"The Princess and others are tending to the sick. _Mademoiselle_ Monica has gotten the illness now along with four others. We are running out of healthy people, yes?"

Tails thought, Oh, God, no…

"What's that, sugar?" Bunnie asked, her voice coming over the radio loud and clear.

Antoine's spirit brightened a little.

"_Mademoiselle Rabbot_, are you there?" he asked with more energy.

"Of course sugar," she said. "How are you feeling?"

"I've feel, as they say, like 'a steaming pile of shit wrapped in a taco'. "

Tails wanted to laugh, laugh till he cried; out of all the sayings that Antoine butchered, this one was right on the money.

Wade's voice was the next to get on the radio.

"Come on Bunnie, we've got to get into this vent shaft," he said.

The sound of a ventilation grate being yanked off of its duct and tossed aside could be heard in the background.

"Alright honey, you keep chugging along and stay alive, you hear me?" she asked.

"Oui, oui; I will do my best," Antoine said.

After Bunny and Wade went silent, Tails asked, "What are they doing with the cure? Is it working?"

"It's doing something. The Princess gave me a small dosage; she is busy studying the chemical properties of it. It made me able to walk and go outside some."

Tails felt some sort of elation knowing that at least the treatment didn't speed up the process nor do anything negative, at least on the surface.

"Antoine: is Sally mad at me?" he asked.

Antoine seemed to be surprised by the question, asking, "_Mon ami_, why would she be mad at you?"

Tails told Antoine was happened.

"I see," the coyote said sympathetically. "I wish I had the answers for you, Tails. A wise human once told me: _pour beaucoup, l'amour nous aveugle_."

"What does that mean?"

"It means that love can cause blindness in relation to the soul."

Tails shook his head, saying, "I… I don't understand?"

"You will someday, maybe soon enough."

Tails lay there in silence, mulling things over in his head. While he understood the concept, he just couldn't rationally justify why one would get upset over another trying to make a difference, especially when lives were on the line. Granted, his relationship with Sally was an extremely special one, one that the young fox didn't quite know how to classify. Hell, he wasn't even sure if anyone else could classify it.

"Un grand merci, Antoine," Tails said.

He could feel Antoine smile through the airwaves.

"_Pas de problem, mon jeune ami_; _faire à la maison en toute sécurité_," Antoine said.

Tails resumed his lookout position. Before he could even put his eye back to the scope, a large metal foot kicked the rifle out of his hands while another kicked him right in the jaw. Before blacking out, Tails saw two SWATbot sentries standing at the top of the hill where he once lay as he tumbled and fell down the embankment before slamming into a concrete pad.

This was not good.


	8. Along the Lines of the Truth

The year was 3224. Captain Wade Hallman stood on a grassy mound overlooking a mountainous valley, far from the battles that were being waged seventy miles eastward. He sighed as he took out a cigar from his flak jacket pocket and lit it with a metal lighter, taking a deep puff. He tugged on his boonie hat to try and shield his eyes better from the sun. Beauregard would be there soon along with Roger and Jessica. If seen together, they would most likely be annihilated without question; the term "extreme prejudice" was often used in situations like these.

Wade didn't have to wait long. He turned to face Beauregard Rabbot and his brood as they trekked up the hill to meet him.

"Took you long enough," Wade said.

Beauregard Rabbot was quite a sight for sore eyes: his light russet hair and fur was wet and filled with dry blood, his brown cowboy hat was worn and tattered, his black flak jacket had a few bullet holes in them, and his bullet-proof vest underneath was well-worn past the point where it should've been discarded. Beauregard's black pants and boots showed dark stains of blood and tears in the fabric. He took off his hat and dusted off his ears.

"Well, no shit," Beauregard snorted. "Kind of hard to hurry the hell up when you're getting the shit bombed out of you."

"You rabbits have a knack for speed—you should've been fine."

"We ain't the cute and cuddly ones our ancestors were with hind legs that could launch us higher than an Overlander with an M80 up his ass."

He turned around and helped his younger sister, Jessica, and her husband, Roger, up onto the mound shared with Wade. Roger and Jessica's six year-old daughter, Bunnie, held onto the back of her father's neck. Upon seeing Wade, she immediately leapt off with much force and ran to him.

"Uncle Wade!" she shouted, holding her arms outward.

Wade bent down to pick up the young female rabbit.

"C'mere sugar," he said with a sad smile.

He lifted her up onto one of his arms and gave her a big hug.

"We were so worried," Bunnie said. "Uncle Beauregard got shot!"

"He did?" Wade asked, faking surprise for the benefit of the child.

"He did! But luckily he had that armor on!"

"Well, good," Wade said. "Listen, honey, why don't you go down there and play in the valley: Uncle Thom should be down there in the camp working on something."

Bunnie's green eyes widened with joy as she nodded fervently. Wade knelt down and let her free; the three adult rabbits and human watched as the little one in the blue dress and little brown cowboy boots run down the hill towards the refugee camp stationed deep in the valley.

"She looks more and more like her mother every day," Wade said, turning to Jessica and Roger.

Jessica was, like Bunnie, a rabbit of a bright brown color with white muzzle and large emerald eyes. Unlike most female rabbits her age, however, she was as tall as her older brother, Beauregard, who stood at Wade's neck. Her husband, Roger, was a rabbit of completely white fur with blue eyes. The two were dressed in standard-issue green, often dubbed "jungle," camouflaged attire and boots.

Upon hearing Wade's comment, Jessica smiled warmly.

"But she has the goddamned stubbornness of her father," she said, turning to Roger. "Getting those two to do something is like trying to plow a canyon."

Roger laughed and agreed.

"Alright Wade, we're all here, tell us what's new," Beauregard said. "Otherwise we'll go ahead and head to camp."

Wade looked back down at the camp and sighed. He finished his cigar and extinguished it on the bottom of his boot.

"It's not good news, if that's what you're wanting," he said. "Overlanders could really use a hand right now. They're desperate to the point that even if they can get one to fully defect they would consider it hope. Since Kintobar decided to jump ship and help you critters, y'all are really beating the shit out of us. Guess it's payback for all the little girls who kept your ancestors in cages and took numerous photographs to post on that Internet thing…"

"Doing the best we can, Wade. It's not like we wanted this war to happen in the first place. You of all people should know that."

"Yeah, you wanted it the way it was before Acorn and friends marched in, I get that. My ancestors had a similar feeling before the great change. All I'm saying is that we need _somebody_ to help; anybody that can help claim a victor quickly so we can stop this shit."

"And what then?" Roger asked. "If someone finds out who they are, they could either be labeled a spy or traitor, ending up dead either way."

"We could end up dead right now if you haven't noticed," Wade lamented. "Jesus, Roger, I'm not asking you to volunteer yourselves."

Jessica's eyes lit up with an idea.

"Maybe… maybe that's just it," she said.

Wade shook his head, waving his hands frantically.

"Oh no," he protested. "That is _not_ what I am suggesting. Are you seriously out of your fucking mind?"

Beauregard concurred with Wade, saying, "Yeah, Jessica: I'm not having you stick your neck out so recklessly. You can't trust these people."

"I'm standing right here, dipshit."

"Well, it's true. For all we know this camp could be nothing more than an outpost or P.O.W. camp."

Wade cocked his head back and crossed his arms.

"Are you kidding me?" he asked mockingly. "I may be playing both sides of the field here but that's only because I want this to end as bad as you do. Turning you into a couple of P.O.W.s serves nothing as you're small potatoes in Acorn's eyes, and given who you are, Beau, he may offer to pay me to keep you if I did."

Wade pointed down to the camp.

"Jessie, you realize that you and your husband have a six year-old daughter who doesn't need the stress of growing up without her parents. Bunnie's already lost her only human friend because I had to protect what's mine," he said. "But, I know you: you'll do whatever your heart says is right because you don't ever want to listen to your brain. Going with emotions is what gets you killed; going with instincts is what keeps you alive."

Jessica looked into Wade's pleading hazel eyes for a few moments.

Finally, she said, "We'll think about it."

Roger nodded in agreement.

Wade sighed and wiped a layer of sweat off of his brow. Beauregard instructed his sister and brother-in-law to go ahead and head down to the camp—he and Wade would be along shortly. Once they were out of earshot, Beauregard turned to the human.

"Can you protect them?" he asked.

Wade snorted.

"I couldn't even protect Lori," he said.

"But these aren't yours, Wade," Beauregard argued. "This isn't your wife and daughter, nor is it your best friend. These are two agents willing to take the plunge and do what's necessary to put an end to this. You said it yourself: emotion gets you killed, instinct keeps you alive."

Wade shook his head and rubbed his face.

"If… if they decide to," he sighed. "You have my word that I'll make sure they make it out alive."

Beauregard gazed down at the village and said, "I think there's a six year old little girl down there who needs that promise more than I do."

"And what if I can't?"

"Well," the bunny said. "Lulumae and I don't have any kids: we could take care of her."

Wade looked down at him.

"And what would I—would you—tell her?" he asked.

Beauregard took off his cowboy hat and scratched his head.

"Something along the lines of the truth, if anything at all; I don't know, man, it's just too soon to start thinking like that."

Wade started to walk down the hill.

"In this line of work, Beau," he said. "It's never too soon to start thinking about death."


	9. The Clincher

"Up this way," Wade said, motioning to Bunnie. "Watch your step."

Inside the maintenance shaft, there was plenty of room for Bunnie to move around; for Wade, however, this was simply not the case. After crawling through what seemed like miles of ventilation ducts and plenums, they finally arrived at a shaft leading upward. There was no maintenance light in this narrow corridor, however, forcing the duo to climb up in darkness. Wade pushed his limbs outward to keep from sliding down and then began to slowly work his way up; Bunnie followed suit.

After thirty minutes of shuffling, sliding, and light swearing, Wade signaled down to Bunnie to halt.

"We're near the main lab," he whispered.

Bunnie whispered back, "How do you know where you're going?"

"Uncle Thom helped design this place."

Bunnie felt her heart sink into her stomach. She held Thom on a higher level than Wade based on his neutrality and well meaning, but now that seemed to be called into question.

"Bunnie," Wade whispered harshly. "We can't stop to cry about this now, we have to keep moving."

He lifted himself up into the narrow ventilation duct that was offshoot of their main course. Bunnie climbed up to the edge and grabbed onto the man's outstretched hand. This shaft was wider and could accommodate both of them side-by-side. The rabbit swallowed hard as Wade pulled the slide back on his gun to make sure a bullet was still chambered.

"How… how could he?" Bunnie asked.

She knew it was an inappropriate time to bring it up, especially after being chastised by Wade.

"There are a lot of things that you don't know that you just wouldn't understand," Wade said. "Up ahead is the main lab. Have you seen it before?"

"Unfortunately," Bunnie sighed.

"Okay, good; we can get to his personal quarters from there. Stay close and follow me."

Wade crawled ahead on his stomach with Bunnie behind doing the same. When they reached the grille, they looked through and studied the lab. In the center was Robotnik's command chair: a large, leather seat that sat inside an egg-shaped console. Above them were large screens that served everything from surveillance footage to a console for the main computer. The equipment and metal-plated walls were a dull, rusty green color, showing their age and use. Cables of a variety of colors ran every which way into various terminals, ports, and devices.

At the moment, the lab was empty. The sounds of numerous fans and the quiet hum of machinery and computer hard drives were the only entities present.

Wade pressed gently on the grate.

"It's screwed on," he said.

Bunnie crawled forward and grabbed the grate with her roboticized arm. With a seemingly effortless thrust, she pushed the vent cover off along with a piece of the wall. Wade crawled out first and crouched down low next to a bank of controls. He peered around the corner towards the far end of the lab with his gun in hand. Once satisfied that they were indeed alone, he motioned for Bunnie to come out as well. Bunnie crawled out and pulled the slide on her respective firearm, ejecting a bullet into the chamber.

Wade crept over to the main console which faced Robotnik's chair. He holstered his weapon and began typing on the keyboard.

"What're you doing?" Bunnie asked.

Wade kept his eyes on the large overhead monitor.

"Checking in on sleeping beauty," he said.

On the monitor, the view switched from an outside surveillance camera to the camera inside Robotnik's quarters. Bunnie gazed in amazement at how simple her arch enemy lived: a simple refrigerator and stove occupied a room no larger than her own hut. She could see a bathroom peeking out behind a half-opened door. To the right was the bedroom where the fat asshole more than likely slept. The walls were dark and concrete but the floor was a beige carpet.

Wade scanned the room before typing more commands into the keyboard and looking off onto a smaller console.

After a few minutes, he said, "That should do it: he won't be able to lock the doors. I can't keep his alarm shut off but even if he does summon his trash can brigade we can come up with something."

Bunnie asked, "What about Snively?"

Wade stopped and turned to her.

"You can't be serious; his own nephew is here?" he asked in disbelief.

"Yeah… he's kind of his peon."

Wade sighed and shook his head.

"I thought that little shit would have more sense than that. If he gets in the way, blow his fucking head off. I'm sure old Uncle Julian could put an ad in the paper or something."

Bunnie stood there stunned. As much as she didn't like any of Robotnik's family, she was never asked to kill anyone before. She swallowed hard.

"Come on, sweetie," Wade said emphatically. "We've got to get in there and get the drop on him."

Bunnie snapped out of it and followed Wade. They slowly approached the doorway to Robotnik's quarters. When they were standing on top of it, Wade put his fist up as a signal to halt. Walking over to the control panel, he pushed a few buttons which caused the doors to slide open. With his back against the wall, Wade peered into the room silently before raising his gun and quickly ducking in. Bunnie followed, keeping her gun low and constantly looking behind them in a sweeping motion. They silently marched towards the bedroom. Wade stopped and slowly maneuvered around the doorway with his gun raised. Bunnie followed and immediately froze at the sight she saw.

In the center of the bed, under a cozy red comforter and white sheets was not Robotnik, but Snively. The short, bald Overlander with an elongated nose that could only be explained by the mutation suffered by humans snored loudly. Wade dropped his arms to his sides and looked around: the only Robotnik here was this one. He walked over silently and ripped off the covers. Before Snively could even so much as scream he was thrown across the room effortlessly by Wade. After slamming into a polished but worn wooden armoire and falling to the floor, he looked up and gasped.

"W-W-W-Wade!" he shrieked.

Wade reached down and picked up Snively by the collar of his silk purple pajamas and slammed him against the armoire once more, this time holding the small servant there.

"Morning sunshine," Wade said flatly.

He took his gun and put the barrel to the Overlander's forehead. Snively started weeping.

Wade continued, "You fucking crybaby: your tears ain't gonna help you here. Where's that fat fuck of an uncle of yours?"

Through his uncontrollable sobbing, Snively's response was incoherent at best. Wade slammed him against the armoire again.

"Or maybe you can tell me what the fuck your uncle's goons were doing outside my village? Why is everyone getting sick?" Wade asked.

Snively shook his head violently.

"He's in the medical ward!" he screamed. "I-I can take you there!"

Wade stepped back and dropped him to the floor. Snively picked himself up and was greeted with a gun to the back of his head.

"If I get the slightest notion that you're going to screw us over, you're going to have a little plastic surgery done from the inside out. Get me?" Wade asked.

Snively didn't say anything. Instead, he walked a nervous pace, leading the human and bunny back to the main lab and an elevator. Once inside, Snively punched a code into a keypad. The stainless steel door slid shut and the car started moving upwards. After a few floors, the elevator chimed and the door slid open. Snively led them down a wide concrete hallway with fluorescent lights hanging overhead. They soon came upon a set of large electronically locked glass door with a handprint reader next to it to control access. Snively put his sweaty hand onto the reader: a soft green glow emitted from beneath his palm and disappeared quickly. The door unlocked and quickly slid open. Past the door was a decontamination chamber which blasted the trio with an airborne antiseptic before allowing entrance into the ward.

The medical ward was as large as the main lab. Its walls were a ceramic tile for easy cleaning; the lighting was also much better. Save for numerous chemicals, containers, and computers, the ward only contained one bed and, as such, one patient: Dr. Julian Robotnik. Bunnie gasped at how ghostly the once powerful ruler looked. Dressed in a hospital gown, his sagging skin and pale color had demonstrated extreme weight loss; a ventilator and oxygen mask forced air into his lungs to keep him breathing. Nearby, fluids were delivered intravenously, suggesting that solids were out of the question.

Before Snively could turn around, Wade slammed the bottom of his gun's grip onto the back of the Overlander's head. Snively collapsed face-first into the waxed tile floor, motionless. Wade made a direct march to Robotnik's bedside. Robotnik's face was drained of all color; he no longer looked evil—instead, he looked like he was on the verge of death. He slowly opened his glowing red roboticized eyes and looked up.

"God… damn…" he uttered.

Wade holstered his weapon.

"Let me guess," he said. "You've got the virus, too?"

Robotnik stared at him for a moment.

After a shaky breath, he whispered, "Betrayed me…"

"Who did?"

Robotnik closed his eyes and continued to take deep breaths. Wade started getting impatient.

"I'm waiting, Julian," he said.

Robotnik swallowed, saying, "FOX…FOXHOUND…"

Wade immediately turned to Bunnie and ordered, "Close the door and barricade it."

Bunnie blinked, asking, "W-why?"

"Just do it!"

Bunnie nodded and turned around.

She shouted, "Shit…!"

Wade didn't need to ask what she was talking about: Snively had apparently faked a concussion and had made an escape.

"Quickly," he said. "Get on the other side of Robotnik."

They ran around the bed with their backs facing the far end of the ward—the ward had only one entry point allowing the use of Robotnik for cover. Wade resumed his interrogation.

"FOXHOUND is done for, Julian," he said firmly. "We killed that project years ago."

Robotnik shook his head.

"No, different," he said hoarsely. "Doctor Lowery… Doctor Rabbot… betrayed me…"

"Wait, what?" Bunnie asked, pushing aside Wade.

Wade took out his gun and said, "That's impossible, you idiot: Thom is dead; he's been dead for years."

"No… you're wrong… alive. Working… Rabbot… betrayed…"

"You're saying that Lulumae is alive?!" Bunnie squealed.

"Created… virus…" Robotnik breathed. "Was… going to… blanket forest with it…"

"And try to kill us all. How did they betray you?" she asked.

Robotnik breathed for a few moments.

"Sabotaged… sabotaged water… airborne…"

"You mean it goes airborne if the liquid evaporates?" Wade asked.

"Vaccine… she has it… kept it from me…"

Wade put his gun to Robotnik's head.

He uttered, cocking the gun in the process, "You worthless waste of semen…"

"There they are!" shouted Snively from the entrance.

Wade and Bunnie looked up; Wade kept his gun pressed against Robotnik's temple. Snively had arrived with five SWATbots and a new prisoner: one of a particular brown color.

Bunnie gasped, "Tails!"

"Put the gun down, Wade!" Snively ordered, boasting in his newfound confidence. "Or the boy gets it."

"Go ahead," Wade said.

Bunnie turned to him and exclaimed, "What?!"

Snively was also taken back.

He stammered, "W-what?"

"You heard me. Go ahead: blow his fucking head off with that gun that you picked up off him. It seems only fitting since Thom took his father's eye with that thing."

Snively suddenly became unsure of what to do. He grabbed the rifle from the hands of the SWATbot who was holding it and pointed it at Wade.

"D-don't make me do it!" he commanded.

"You really are dumber than I thought you were, Kintobar," Wade said mockingly. "You shoot me and I'll blow your uncle's brains out. You know what happens if his pulse stops? This whole city gets blown to shit."

"You're bluffing!" Snively contested. "There's… no, there's no fucking way!"

"Dear Uncle Julian here wanted to ensure that if the Mobians were ever ballsy enough to take his fat ass out that he would leave them a parting gift by turning this place into a crater. There's a pacemaker attached to his heart which sends relay messages to a special computer underground. Unfortunately, he pissed off the only one who knows the location of said computer and access codes—that would be me—so he's stuck with it, whether he likes it or not."

Robotnik gave a small nod in agreement.

Snively gritted his teeth and screamed.

"Looks like this is the clincher, Kintobar," Wade said. "Give us the fox and that gun, and we'll leave quietly."

"And if I don't?" Snively asked defiantly.

"Well, we'll just have to see for ourselves, won't we?"


	10. Ulterior Motives

Sally flipped through the journals that she had dug up from her personal items. It was a feeble attempt at most to find out who this Wade character was; at least it was something to keep her busy while Rotor tried to collect ingredients to make up something as close to the vaccine formula that was scribbled on the page left behind. The writing was very poorly written and there was scratched out marks, but it was the only thing they had, at least to keep everyone alive just a little bit longer until the actual treatment could be delivered.

The journals provided little detail on what humans worked for the kingdom, especially ones who seemed to be playing both sides of the fence. Finally, after thumbing through eleven tattered volumes, she managed to come across his personnel file. Attached to it were roughly four others: Thomas Lowery, Anthony Enos, Imogen Bonds, and Elena Davis. Enos' record had a large red "DECEASED" stamp across it while the rest had "MISSING." Sally set the one that was confirmed dead aside and began to scrutinize Wade's file.

Sally placed NICOLE on the table. Earlier she had tried searching for Wade but was told no such record existed. On his record, however, there was an assigned identification number. She crossed her fingers.

"NICOLE," Sally stated. "Load personnel file F-H-0-4-2-0-8-3."

"Working, Sally," NICOLE replied. "Personnel file found."

Above the handheld computer a colored holographic identification card appeared. A much cleaner looking facial portrait of Wade Hallman appeared both facing forward and to the right in two photographs on the left of the card. On the right his biological information was displayed as well as security clearance and unit. Sally looked back down at the sheet where one field in particular caught her attention: FOXHOUND. What in the hell was FOXHOUND?

"NICOLE: cross-reference military unit FOXHOUND."

NICOLE started computing before saying, "Working, Sally. Error: insufficient clearance."

"What…?"

Sally sat back in her chair; this was definitely a first. She reviewed the sheet for any more items that she might be able to gain some more insight from.

Sally breathed, "NICOLE, cross-reference military operation FOXDIE."

"Working, Sally," the computer replied. "One entry found…"

* * *

"Tell you what, Snively," Wade said, still holding the gun to Robotnik's skull. "I know what you really want."

Snively was silent.

"You want to eradicate those who oppressed you, the ones who made you into who you are today. Am I getting warm?"

Snively clenched his fists.

He snarled, "Those worthless creatures; I want to piss on their graves and shit on their memories."

"Well then, you're in luck: I know that the humans are sitting on a nuclear warhead or two. You let us leave quietly and I will make a special delivery."

"Bullshit!" Snively yelled. "I have nothing that would cause you to come back here, much less with a nuclear bomb!"

"I have nothing left to live for, you stupid prick. Those shits labeled me a traitor and banished me from their colony; they left us out to die in the wilderness. I obviously don't have access to a Metal Gear, but if I could find Thom's old files… I'm sure he still has the schematics. With a place as big as this, you could churn one out in no time."

Snively folded his arms and thought.

"Besides," Wade continued. "Without the cure, your uncle is as good as a ticking time-bomb. Are you really that fucking stubborn to test something like that?"

"God dammit!" the short Overlander yelled. "Alright, fine: bring back the vaccine and I won't turn the Great Forest into a crater. Bring back a nuke or, better yet, a Metal Gear, and I won't send every fucking SWATbot produced out there to hunt you and your kind down. Take it or leave it."

"I guess I'll take it. Now hand over the boy and the gun."

Snively ordered the SWATbot to throw Tails across the room along with the rifle. Tails crashed into the floor and rolled a few times before landing on his stomach. He reached over and grabbed his gun before dragging himself to his feet and rejoining Wade and Bunnie. Wade slowly escorted the fox and rabbit around the bed and past Snively.

"Remember our deal, Hallman," Snively called as they walked silently down the hall.

"Don't worry," Wade said over his shoulder. "I'll be back."

* * *

Sally sat back in her chair in absolute shock from what she had just learned. She covered her mouth and started to cry silently. Tails was possibly in even more danger than she had first assumed; did Wade realize who Tails' parents were? When leaving, the human said that there was something inside Tails that he needed to embrace. Maybe he did realize who it was… maybe the project never ended, just postponed. Wade Hallman needed to be interrogated ferociously.

The princess got up and walked over to the window. Another victim fell to the plague that was afflicting Knothole Village: this time, a young female canine named Carrie. Rotor and another Freedom Fighter carried her body silently to the funeral pyre on the far end of the village, bandannas wrapped around their mouths to help protect from contamination. Sally sighed; she wished they would hurry up and get the vaccine; after making it back in one piece, she was determined to punch Mr. Hallman right in that square jaw of his.

Once they were back in signal range, she would confront him over the radio. It was risky, she knew: but Tails had to know that there was an ulterior motive to Wade dragging him along. With Bunnie's robotic limbs, though, she should be able to protect him and possibly even kill Wade.

In the end, Sally thought, that option would probably be best for all parties.


	11. It Is What It Is

Wade kept a cautious sweep behind the trio as they walked out of Robotropolis, due west opposite of Knothole.

"Guess we need to pay your uncle a visit," he sighed.

Bunnie looked up, asking, "You know where to find him?"

"I do, but it's dangerous: we're going to need transportation. Unfortunately, the only place we can get it from isn't exactly too friendly to outsiders. On top of that, we need to sleep and find food."

Wade pointed to the north.

"We're going to need to head that way," he said. "There's a small village about five miles out of this dump that should have what we need. If we minimize stops, we should be able to get there by the afternoon."

They picked up their gear and started walking. When Robotropolis began to fade in the distance, Tails spoke up.

"What did you mean about my father?" he asked.

"Your father was shot in the face with that rifle during the Great War," Wade said without turning around. "The man who pulled the trigger was who Robotnik called Doctor Lowery—"

"Who's also apparently alive," Bunnie commented.

"—was my best friend and also one of the forerunners of roboticization. Thom's father was Doctor Morgan's mentor. You know who that is, right?"

Tails shook his head, "No."

"Nate Morgan was a brilliant scientist who inspired Robotnik to carry on the roboticization research. Thom and Nate shared research on other technology, much more sinister things I'm afraid."

"Like what?" Bunnie asked.

"Remember that Metal Gear thing Snively asked about? Thom uncovered technology dating back at least a thousand years to the twenty-first century. These were huge robots that contained the ability to launch a nuclear warhead with great trajectory from anywhere in the world, eliminating the need for dedicated missile silos with enough room for a great enough thrust. The first generation gears were created by a nationality called 'Russian' in the late twentieth-century before a truly successful prototype was completed."

Tails stopped, asking, "And you're going to hand one over?"

Wade shook his head and said, "Not quite, kid. Snively may be smart in some areas, but his so goddamn naïve it's almost pathetic. I could've convinced him I was going to hand over an entire army and he would've bought it hook, line, and sinker. Anyway, Thom was working on putting one of those things together… one of them was a weird hybrid mix of machine and actual organic tissue."

"So what are we going to do?" Bunnie asked.

"Get the vaccine, deliver a nuke without any fuel, and get the hell out. Which reminds me, we should be in the clear now. Mad Dog to Overlord…"

* * *

"Are you out of your mind, Sal?" Sonic asked, propped up on numerous pillows in his bed. "If you go accusing that guy of shit that we have no definite proof of, he could tell us to fuck the hell off and then what?"

Sally protested, "Dammit Sonic, this _is _definitive proof. What more do you want?"

"What if it's wrong? NICOLE's files have been wrong before."

The princess covered her face. Sonic was right; this introduction of doubt was really putting a strain on the whole operation, especially when so many lives were at stake.

"What should I do then?" she asked. "Do you have any better ideas?"

Sonic took a small sip of water. The intravenous connection provided most of his needed fluids in order to prevent dehydration though didn't do much for his dry mouth.

"Why don't you ask Bunnie what she knows about him?" he asked.

"You think that's safe?"

"Best option in my opinion," the blue hedgehog said. "I don't know how you're going to get by without him eavesdropping, though."

"Yeah," Sally sighed. "Get some sleep. I'll check on you later."

Sonic gave a slight nod and pressed back into his pillows. Sally left the hut and made her way back to the communications lab. Rotor was currently on radio duty when she walked in.

"Hi Sal," he said, obviously tired from the night of tending to patients and trying to keep up with the ongoing engineering needs of Knothole Village. "I haven't heard anything from them since I took over."

"Thanks, Rotor," Sally said with a sad smile. "Go take a break; I'll keep watch for a while."

"You sure?"

She nodded, "Yeah."

Rotor got up and dragged himself out of the hut. Sally took a seat at the radio. It had been several hours since she last radioed Tails which ended with nothing but silence. She wanted to tell him to come back home, to come back to her, but was it really her place to dictate how he should discover his way?

Wade's voice crackled over the radio: "Mad Dog to Overlord."

Sally keyed the mike and responded, "Overlord copies, go ahead."

"We've got a bit of a situation," Wade said. "I now owe Snively a nuclear weapon."

Sally nearly topped the chair over as she leapt to her feet.

"You WHAT?!" she screamed into the receiver.

"Oh for fuck's sake, calm down," the soldier said mildly irritated. "It's not as bad as it sounds."

"The hell it does; what the fuck were you thinking; how the hell did this come about?!"

"Robotnik's got the virus," Wade explained. "We were compromised inside Robotropolis since your darling little boy got picked up by a team of SWATbots. I didn't have a choice but to give him a heaping dose of some mental masturbation. Don't worry—I'm going to deliver a dud. It was either that or let him crater the Great Forest."

Sally gritted her teeth. The mere thought of Tails getting captured by Robotnik's creations made her want to claw the finish off of the work bench. She took a deep breath and tried to regain her composure.

"What happened to Tails? What's keeping Snively from torching the Great Forest now?" Sally asked.

She could hear Wade taking out a cigarette before saying, "The Overlanders keep a closer watch on what goes on in the world than what you might think."

After the soft sounds of a lighter igniting and being closed shut, he continued, "He's just blowing smoke up our collective asses—don't lose any sleep over it. Robotnik would much rather cut down every single tree to get to Knothole rather than get some unwanted attention from the race he sold out to. He also wants this walking piece of machinery that can launch these things from anywhere but I doubt I'll be able to obtain one for him: the only person I know that would have any sort of schematics is dead. As for the fox, he's fine—was a little shaken up, probably pissed himself, but otherwise okay."

Sally resisted the urge to "let the cat out of the bag," so to speak, and alert Wade to the fact that she had done her homework on him while simultaneously imagining the gruesome things she intended to do to him should anything happen to Tails. She took a deep breath.

"Where are you headed now?" she asked.

"There's a village about five miles from our position. We're going to head there, camp out for the night, and then get some transportation to the desert outposts. That is, if they're willing to let us in."

"What do you mean? And what's in the desert?"

"The village isn't exactly the friendliest bunch if you catch my drift; these aren't other Freedom Fighters. As for what's in the desert, well… let's just say that we're going to have a family reunion with the Rabbot clan."

"I'm so sorry, Bunnie," Sally said gently.

She could hear the rabbit sigh, saying, "It's okay sugar; it is what it is."

Sally needed to figure out a way to get Bunnie to contact her without being discovered.

"Hey Bunnie?" she asked. "How's Tails holding up?"

Tails' voice came over the air: "I'm okay…"

"Maybe tonight I can read you a story with Bunnie, like at home," she said carefully.

"That sounds like a good idea, honey," Bunnie said.

"I hate to cut this touching moment short, but we've got to get moving," Wade echoed flatly. "Come on you two, pick up the pace."

Bunnie sighed, closing with "I'll talk to you later tonight, Sally girl."

"You too, Bunnie," Sally said. "And Tails?"

"Yeah?" the young boy asked.

"… Try not to get caught."

"Best advice I've heard anyone give today," Wade huffed.


	12. Asking Too Much

Doctor Thom Lowery dropped the camouflaged scoped killing machine onto the planning table inside the makeshift command post. Wade and Beauregard stood on the other side, dressed in their black, Kevlar-padded covert operations uniforms. The uniforms themselves bore no insignias in order to hide any affiliation nor did they represent any rank assigned to the wearer; the only implication of identification was a shoulder patch depicting a brown fox staring outward with a combat knife in its mouth and the word "FOXHOUND" across the top. Thom, on the other hand, was dressed in a ghillie suit: a woodland disguise meant to blend in with a dense forest surrounding or forest floor. He removed his hat and tossed it onto the rifle.

"You don't seem happy," Wade remarked.

"Cheeky fuck managed to get wind of me," Thom replied. "I only managed to take out one of his eyes before he was evac'd. I can only hope that skull fragments made their way into his brain."

Wade took a deep breath and offered some condolence: "Sorry, Thom."

Thom pulled up a chair and lit a cigarette. He was a rough character, not unlike Wade, with short black hair, heavy brown eyes, and a round, worn face. With broad shoulders and standing well over six feet, it was hard to imagine that he often served as a physician and scientist instead of a routine mercenary. He shared the same accent with Wade, not to mention many experiences they tried to forget.

"How's the kid?" Thom asked.

Wade stepped over to the aluminum door of the metal shed which served as their command post and war room and shut it.

"She still doesn't know," he said without turning around.

"You don't need to hide this shit from her, Wade; you need to tell her."

He sighed heavily. Beauregard lowered his gaze and slumped into a metal folding chair across from Thom.

"What do we tell her?" the rabbit asked aloud. "She's only a youngin…"

Thom took a long drag before saying, "Goddamn right she's a youngin, but that's no excuse to think she's stupid. She'll figure it out on her own and if she does, she's going to be beyond pissed. Jesus Christ, Wade: she could turn out like we did. Do you really want to be indirectly responsible for another killing machine?"

"It's not like I asked for it, Thom," Wade snapped. "I tried to keep them from going through with it, anyway. So save your preaching for the pulpit."

Thom put his hands up.

"I'm not preaching," he explained. "I'm just saying: how fair are we being to her?"

Wade turned back to the door and pushed aside the shade covering the window. Night had fallen; millions of stars littered the sky giving the illusion of peace across the land.

"How's the 'bot coming?" he asked Thom.

"Slow. It's hard trying to keep a low profile on that thing, especially with the limited personnel I have—had to fire two guys just last week."

"Are they going to find their bodies?" Beauregard inquired.

Thom extinguished his cigarette.

"Depends on how deep they're willing to swim. I guess I'll go tuck the girl in and read her a bedtime story tonight. Don't worry: I'm not going to deprive you of your solemn duty."

Wade gave Thom a middle finger. The doctor laughed and walked out of the command post still wearing his ghillie suit.

Bunnie shared her aunt and uncle's tent on the edge of the camp. There was little activity going on as most had already retired to their quarters or were stationed elsewhere in the field. Refugees who passed through the base were ushered to safe houses and neutral zones under the cover of darkness; unfortunately, this led to many families being separated due to space limitations. Thom smoked a cigarette all the way to the quarters where Bunnie stayed with Lulumae and Beauregard before dropping it onto the dirt at the door. He opened the door, "Sweetheart?"

Bunnie was under the covers of a military-grade cot on the left side of the shelter. The tent itself was about the size of an average living room and dining room put together. Two bunks were pushed against one side while a sleeping bag occupied the plywood floor. A single overhead fluorescent light provided the default light source for each unit; in this one, Bunnie relied on a battery-powered lantern to help provide a sense of security, especially when she had to go to the bathroom.

The young rabbit sat up and yawned.

"Is it time, Uncle Thom?" she asked.

"Afraid so, sweetie," he said. "Did I wake you?"

"Naw… I was just getting sleepy."

Thom pulled up a chair.

"What do you want to read tonight?" he asked.

"I want you to tell me the story of the Flower Girl again."

Thom laughed gently, saying, "Never get tired of that, do you?"

Bunnie shook her head.

"Nope," she said. "I love that story. I wish that 'materia' stuff was real…"

"If it was real, dear, this war would be a lot worse."

"But maybe Mommy and Daddy could be back… are they ever coming home?"

Thom sat back in his chair.

"I hope so, sweetheart," he said reassuringly.

Thom proceeded to tell the young girl her favorite story. At the end, Bunnie leaned back into her pillow; a look of question across her face.

"Uncle Thom?" she asked. "Did you kill anyone today?"

"Kind of out of left field, huh?" Thom remarked. "Why do you ask that?"

"I saw you leave this morning with your gun. You don't ever leave in your troll suit with a gun unless you're going to kill someone."

"And what if I did?"

Bunnie turned her head to face him, her green eyes wide with anxiety.

"Is… is it bad people that…"

"Yes," Thom said firmly. "Yes they are bad people, Bunnie. These people only want to hurt you and your family and everyone around them. That's why you've got to stay here in the camp and never, _ever _leave without one of us. Do you understand?"

"I… I do," she said cautiously. "Did… did the Flower Girl ever kill anybody?"

Thom halfway smiled.

"If she did," he said. "I'm sure it was only bad people that she did."

"I wish I could meet her."

Thom turned out the lantern sitting on the nightstand next to the cot.

"I would too, dear," he said. "I would, too. Now, get some sleep. Your Uncle Beauregard is moving you and your aunt somewhere safe tomorrow and you need to be fully rested."

"You're not coming?" she asked, mildly distressed.

Thom shook his head, saying, "I can't right now sweetie; I'm sorry. Uncle Wade will be going, though—I'll catch up with you guys in a few days. Someone has to be here for when your parents come back."

Bunnie gave a slight nod as he tucked her in. Thom left the shelter and returned to the command post. Beauregard and Wade were standing around the map table marking different locations with a red marker. Thom gently shut the door and walked over.

"Won't believe what she asked me," he said to Wade.

"What?" Wade asked.

"She asked me if I killed anyone today again; she seems to be asking that a lot more."

Beauregard rubbed his face, saying, "I don't know how I feel about that child getting accustomed to death."

"I don't know if she has much of a choice," Thom said. "What's the latest?"

Wade circled a location on the map.

"Rumor has it Kintobar has managed to construct a Metal Gear," Wade said. "If that's the case, we're going to need to act fast."

"I thought his brother was scuttling humans out of here?"

Wade nodded, saying, "He is. Problem is Acorn wants to make sure they don't come back."

"That furry fuck," Thom said. "No offense, Beau."

"None taken," Beauregard replied.

"We're going to get these people out of here at o-nine-hundred," Wade explained. "Beauregard is going to take point, Lulumae and Brent are going to escort, and I'm going to bring up the rear. You sure you're going to be okay for a few days here with minimal support?"

"I should be," Thom said. "These kids seem to have a handle on firing a gun without pissing themselves. If Acorn and company show up, we'll just have to stall them and try to draw them deeper into the mountains. Just do me a favor and don't take your sweet time getting back here—I'll get lonely."

Wade gave Thom a soft punch in the arm.

"You got it, you queer," he said nonchalantly.

"And," Thom added. "I know it's probably asking too much, but…"

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a worn pink ribbon.

Trying to maintain his composure, Thom said, "Can you wrap this around Aeris' grave marker for me? I… I know you'll be passing that way and I just want to make sure it makes it just in case something happens to me."

Wade gave a solemn nod and took the ribbon, placing it into his shirt pocket for safekeeping.

"Your daughter will get what's hers, bro," Wade said.

Thom gave a small salute before picking up his rifle.

"Hopefully," he said, pulling back on the bolt and loading another bullet into the chamber. "Kintobar and company will get theirs, too."


	13. A Fine Line Between Love and Hate

The outpost consisted of the tattered remains of a human settlement that had long been abandoned. What inhabitants stayed behind consisted of a mixture of human and animal genotype. Tails cautiously looked around his surroundings, trying to stay keen on his situational awareness. He may have been young, but he was by no means stupid… at least, he thought he wasn't stupid. Standing up to Wade could be conceived as one of the most idiotic things ever done: he didn't know what the man was capable of, especially since he marched straight into Knothole unannounced carrying weapons.

And now here they were, out on their own special mission. It just wasn't the same without Sonic and Sally leading the way.

Wade was scary in his own right. He constantly looked at Tails with this queer, guarded glance from time to time, like he was expecting the young fox to get the drop on him. Tails didn't know what to make of it; whatever the case, he needed to do this for Knothole's sake. It was time to stop being such a goddamned baby about everything and be an adult.

Wade put his hand out to signal Bunnie and Tails to stop. The settlement was composed of rundown wooden shacks, tents, and very few businesses. One in particular, a local pub, occupied the only brick building in town. A cracked wooden sign hung above the front door that read "7th Heaven." Wade looked in his pocket and frowned.

"Goddammit," he mumbled. "Out of smokes…"

He turned to Bunnie and said, "I'm going to go in here and see if I can arrange for some transportation for tomorrow's ride. Go see if you can find somewhere to sleep."

"What about you?" Bunnie asked in response.

"I'll find you tomorrow. Oh yeah…"

Wade removed his earpiece and transmitter before tossing it to her.

"Hang on to that. If something happens to me, you'll have to go find your aunt on your own. Don't tell anyone you know me unless I tell you otherwise. Got it?"

Bunnie nodded, packing the communication device away.

"Come on, sugar," she said to Tails. "Let's go find somewhere to bunk."

Tails nodded in agreement as they parted ways with Wade. Bunnie took Tails' hand as they walked around the center square. Bunnie spotted a hostel near where the group entered. It was in better shape than the other dilapidated structures but still looked barely habitable. Heavy iron bars covered cracked and shattered windows while most of the shutters had fallen off from years of failed upkeep. The building had never been painted, instead relying on the color of the wood to give it its charm—now that the luster was gone, it looked more akin to an old gray shell of somebody's home.

Upon approaching they noticed the front door was slightly ajar. Bunnie gently pushed it open giving access to the lobby. A check-in counter stood in the front foyer with numerous rows of pigeon-hole mailboxes behind it. The wooden floors, though polished to an extent, creaked loudly over Bunnie's and Tails' steps. This got the attention of the attendant: a black cat that stood about Rotor's height but about half his weight. Tails noticed that the feline had a slight arch in his back, giving the impression that this one was probably an elder. He was dressed in a tattered brown felt vest and black jeans that looked like he had been dragged through a briar patch.

"Oh, hello," he said placidly. "Don't see many new faces come this way. You folks need a place to say?"

"If that's okay," Bunnie said, smiling weakly. "It's already past this one's bedtime."

She gently rubbed Tails on the head.

The old cat's green eyes lit up.

"I say, son, that's a mighty powerful rifle you have there. You know how to shoot?" he asked.

Tails slid the gun off of his shoulder and looked it over.

He half-smiled, saying, "Yeah… haven't hit anything with it yet."

The feline laughed.

"Well I hope whatever it is, that it deserved it."

He reached under the counter and pulled out a set of keys.

"Follow me," he continued. "And don't worry about paying. Money doesn't do any of us any good out here."

"Good," Bunnie said. "Because all we have to offer is labor."

"Don't worry about it. It's just nice having some company around here."

"You're by yourself?" Tails asked.

"At the moment," said the old man. "Not many people head this way anymore; course, Barret keeps us pretty isolated."

"Barret?"

"He's the guy who owns the bar at the end of town. You've seen it, haven't you: the 7th Heaven? Course, you're not old enough to drink, but… well, I digress. In any case, stay away from there as there ain't anything but trouble that comes out of that place. Here, this room ought to do it."

He unlocked a door to a small bedroom not far from the front door. Inside was an iron bunk bed with mattresses that looked like they were once issued in a prison and a rickety old dresser. In the corner was a porcelain bathroom sink but no mirror. The barred window was, unlike many of the others, in solid shape.

Bunnie turned to the proprietor, saying "Thank you so much…?"

"Xola's the name, dear," he said. "I don't believe I've caught yours…"

"I'm Bunnie," she said. "And this is Tails."

"It's a pleasure to meet you. Since you two wandered in, I assume you're headed towards the desert?"

"Something like that."

Xola's face turned grave.

"You… you wouldn't happen to be Beauregard Rabbot's niece, would you?"

Tails began to slowly slip his rifle off of his shoulder.

Bunnie tensed up. She took a deep breath and braced for a confrontation.

"I… I am," she said nervously. "Is that a problem?"

"Get in the room, quickly," Xola ordered.

Tails brought up his gun and shoved it into Xola's face.

"No," he said firmly.

"Dammit, child," Xola breathed exasperatedly. "I don't know if they're listening to us—we need to be in there where it's safe."

Bunnie pushed the barrel of the rifle downwards.

"Let's hear what he has to say, sugar," she said to Tails gently.

They entered the room as ordered. Xola shut the door and pulled the shade to the window down. Upon turning, he was grabbed by the throat and thrown up against the wall by Bunnie using her robotic limb.

"Who are you?!" she shouted. "What do you know?!"

"Please!" Xola pleaded hoarsely. "I'm not an enemy!"

"That's pretty hard to swallow when you're asking questions like that, honey."

"Just put me down and I'll explain."

Bunnie released her grip; Xola grabbed onto the sink for support. Tails kept his gun trained on the cat's chest as a safety measure.

The old man coughed before saying, "I only ask because I can only assume that you're looking for the vaccine for the virus."

"So you know about it," Bunnie said flatly.

"Do you not think that you're the only one who was affected by it? This plague has already wiped out many of the last inhabitants of this village. Many groups have banded together and are looking for the cure, raiding these camps that were left behind."

"Tell me about these camps."

Xola stood upright before leaning on the wall, no longer using the sink as a makeshift crutch.

"There's a sect composed of certain humans and Mobians alike that are hoping to eliminate both Robotnik and the Freedom Fighters. Essentially, anyone who had any connection to King Acorn in one way or the other, either good or bad, is a target. They are dispatching encampments to deposit spores that release this… this disease. We don't know if it's some sort of mutated strain of influenza or meningitis, but whatever it is, there's reason to believe it's meant to exterminate everything in its path. We speculated that these encampments are just merely trial runs to measure the results. The fact that you're here and alive either means you're a carrier for it or have an immunity; they already know this and are already working on ways to fix it so you'll be guaranteed to get it. That is, if they don't shoot you first."

"Who are these people? Is my aunt and uncle really involved?"

"So you know… well, at least your aunt is. Lulumae has been confirmed as one of the primary participants in its creation. Luckily for her, not many people know who she is or what she looks like. Your uncle, on the other hand…"

Bunnie covered her face.

"Damn, damn, DAMN!" she shouted. "Has anyone already started crossing the desert?"

"I don't know sweetheart. I haven't seen anyone head west of here for weeks. As far as who these people are: that's a question only your aunt, or maybe your uncle, can answer. We don't know who they are or where they came from. We originally speculated they were from Station Square but with humans dying as well, we don't know what to draw from that."

Xola put his hands on Bunnie's shoulders.

"Look sweetheart, you're going to have a whole lot more dumped on your shoulders before this is over."

He looked over at Tails, saying, "At least you have a warrior like him with you."

Bunnie uncovered her face and looked at Tails. He had pointed his rifle downward and was staring back at Bunnie. Tails didn't feel like a warrior—he felt like a kid taken out of his element that was doing everything he could to save his friends while at the same time being totally powerless. He thought about how Sonic would just laugh and say that the situation was a "piece of cake" and that nobody had anything to worry about. But he wasn't Sonic, nor was he Sally, nor was he anybody anyone looked up to. He was just a stupid kid from Knothole with no parents, not much of a life, and on a crash course collision with adulthood. He knew there was a fine line between love and hate, and right now he hated Bunnie's aunt. He hated Lulumae so much it made him want to claw her eyes out with a dinner fork and then shove them up her ass. He wanted to hate Sally, too.

God did he want to hate Sally.

Rather than have faith in him, she would rather have the others die. That made no sense whatsoever. But there was something even stranger than that: the fact that Wade, the stranger who had drug him away from his element in the first place, had placed some level of confidence in his, though limited, abilities.

"I'm ready for a story now, Aunt Bunnie," he said softly.

"You both should get some rest," Xola said. "If you need something to eat, I've got some rations that will get you up to speed. When are you planning on leaving?"

Bunnie became somewhat uneasy.

"Tomorrow morning," she said. "We have someone trying to hook us up with a ride."

"Good—I hope it works out. I'm sorry to say this, Bunnie, but countless lives are depending on you…"

Xola turned to Tails once more.

"…and Tails."

He started to leave the room.

"Good night," he said. "If you need anything, please let me know. I don't sleep very much due to my insomnia, so don't worry about keeping me awake."

I could really use a new life, Tails thought.

Bunnie keyed up her mike.

"Sally girl," she said. "Do you copy?"


	14. Where My Demons Hide

"We're ready, Sally," Bunnie said, sitting cross-legged on the bottom bunk across from Tails. Their bags and equipment were placed in a neat pile on the floor nearby. Tails was leaning back against the bed frame, curious to hear what tonight's meeting was to entail.

"I… I looked through all of my father's old records that he kept in the library, before he was cast into the Void, and I found Wade's dossier."

"What's a dossier?" Tails asked.

"It's like a big file on him," Bunnie explained. "Go on, sugar."

"Well… Wade was involved with a special operations unit known as FOXHOUND. I couldn't find anything more about it, unfortunately. However, I did uncover one project that stood out that was stemmed from it, a project known as FOXDIE."

Tails sat in silence.

"FOXDIE was a highly secretive project initiated by FOXHOUND involving a calculated elimination of certain people through any means necessary not only for the Great War to be won. The problem was is that there were rumors of a powerful yet dormant creature that could really turn the tides of the war and wipe out not only the humans but also Mobians as well. It seems that FOXHOUND managed to find literature, scriptures, or just word-of-mouth from a trusted source that pointed all fingers to particular members of my father's inner-circle. What role these individuals would play in this so-called 'prophecy' was unknown; yet, whatever the case, some of them were taken out, some weren't."

"What did the prophecy say specifically, Sally?" Bunnie asked.

Sally took a deep breath and said, "It said that a mutated being would be born; someone who would be able to look death in the face and laugh. They would be a savior to some and an executioner to others."

"What kind of mutation are we talking about?"

"Um," Sally said cautiously. "It's… it's a two-tailed fox…"

The whole room went silent.

Tails simply stared ahead into space, unsure of how to react to what he just heard.

He took a deep breath and whispered, "I'm… I'm a monster…"

"No, Tails," Sally said firmly. "You are _not _a monster of _any kind_, you hear me? This was just some bullshit prophecy or hocus-pocus shit that got dug up by these people…"

"And if it isn't?" the child asked.

Both Sally and Bunnie remained silent.

"Wade knows," he continued. "I'm going to ask him."

Sally breathed a tired, worried sigh, saying, "Honey, I don't think…"

"I think that's the right thing to do," Bunnie interrupted. "We'll ask Wade first thing in the morning."

Sally protested, "Bunnie! You can't be serious?!"

"Tell me more about this prophecy," Tails said. "What does it say?"

There was a moment of silence.

"It said that this being would be known as the 'Chosen One,'" the Princess said quietly. "According to what little information I have, it seems that he or she is supposed to bring about something called 'The Great Harmony.' However, there is constant disagreement on how this is to be accomplished. FOXHOUND felt that this could be manipulated in favor of either side for complete domination or, worse, complete annihilation of everyone on the planet."

"Question," Bunnie said. "Is Tails the only known two-tailed fox?"

"As far as I know… there's just… Tails, can I talk to Bunnie alone for a little bit?"

Bunnie placed her normal hand on Tails' shoulder.

"It's okay, sweetheart," she said. "Why don't you go ask Xola what's for supper and help him out?"

Without saying a word, Tails removed his communication gear and dropped it onto the bed. He walked out of the room in continued silence, gently shutting the door behind him.

"Okay, Sally," Bunnie said. "I'm alone."

"Bunnie… you know this Thom Lowery character, right?" Sally asked. "How do you know him?"

"He was the local doctor and engineer in the camp where my aunt and uncle were during the war. He was also Wade's best friend—I believe they grew up together."

"Do you know if he's still alive?"

Bunnie sighed, "Honey, I don't know… it's anyone's guess. Why? Do you have his file?"

"Yeah," Sally said. "It says he's missing. Bunnie… I need to tell you about another phase of FOXDIE that… that I just couldn't tell Tails."

"What is it, Sally-girl?"

Sally swallowed hard, hard enough to be heard over the earpiece.

"It says that Lowery formulated an alternate plan in the event that Tails was born. Did you know that he tried to assassinate Tails' father, Amadeus?"

Bunnie lowered her gaze towards the floor.

"Yeah," she said softly. "I… I don't like to think about it, but I know. I learned about it awhile later."

Sally took a deep breath and said, "Bunnie… I don't know how to say this, but… I think, well, two things: I think that this Doctor Lowery character is still alive and I think that he wants Tails."

"Huh? Why would he want Tails?"

"Bunnie, have you ever heard of something called a 'Chaos Emerald?'"

Bunnie scratched the back of her head.

"Can't say I have, sugar; what is it?"

"I'll have to give you the short version," Sally explained. "Thousands of years ago these emeralds appeared out of the sky and wreaked havoc on the atmosphere and environment. They believe it's a byproduct of the gene bombings that Xorda unleashed on Earth; whatever the case, these things are highly volatile and full of chaotic energy, hence the name."

"So what does this have to do with Tails?" Bunnie asked.

"The emeralds that are known of today are closely guarded by the oldest race, the echidnas. Even though they are limited in numbers now, they possess many technological and socio-economic advances that my forefathers admired and tried to adopt in the kingdom. As such, many are fierce warriors with no hesitation to throw everything they've got against someone who's coming to get an emerald."

"I got you," Bunnie said. "You think that if Thom is still alive he wants to make him into some sort of super soldier and get the emeralds, right?"

Sally sighed, "That's what I'm afraid of. That, or Wade is in collusion with Doctor Lowery, or acting on his own. Whatever the case, I'm curious about these other individuals… "

"There're others—who?"

"Anthony Enos, Imogen Bonds, and Elena Davis; do you know these people?"

Bunnie was eerily silent. Sally couldn't see the tears preparing to fall.

She swallowed hard and whispered, "Sally-girl, what I'm about to tell you cannot leave this channel. You can't tell anyone, not Tails, not Sugar-hog, not Antoine, not anyone, do you understand?"

Sally stiffened her back and answered nervously, "O-of course, Bunnie."

"What I'm about to tell you… well, let's just say that this is where my demons hide."


	15. A War You Cannot Win

Wade looked up at the aged sign of the 7th Heaven pub. It was a bit of a gamble coming this far—he didn't know if it still stood or not given its proximity to Robotropolis. Wade figured that the Freedom Fighters were giving Robotnik too much trouble to worry about some small village of nobodies. He took a deep breath and pushed the wooden door open.

The bar inside was reasonably well-kept given the conditions outside: the wooden floors were swept clean, the vinyl booths and seats were cared for with holes patched with duct tape, and all of the overhead lighting worked. There was a small collection of alcohol on the shelves above the bar of various liquors that Wade hadn't seen in a long time. Manning the empty counter—and seemingly empty establishment—was a limber girl in a white tank-top and long black hair that stopped halfway down her back. She looked up, anxious to see who her only patron was.

"Can I… Wait, Uncle Wade…?" she asked cautiously.

Wade gave a sad half-smile and took off his boonie hat, revealing his balding, aged scalp of dirty blonde hair.

"Hi, Tifa," he said gently.

The barmaid catapulted herself over the smooth counter and ran across the bar. She wrapped her arms around the old mercenary and wept into his chest.

"I thought you were dead," she cried.

Wade put his arms around the twenty year-old girl and caressed her hair.

"I can only imagine one person who would want you to believe that," he said. "But, rest assured, I'm very much alive."

Tifa released her embrace and backed up, wiping her eyes fervently. Trained in the art of close-quarters combat, Tifa was very fit and agile. Yet, in all of her toughness, her large brown eyes always carried a notion of yearning for happier times, ones that weren't plagued by violence, death, and betrayal. She kept her appearance plain—something she learned to appreciate thanks to her father—and allowed the soft features of her face to be seen by all as it was meant to be. Tifa's tank-top sported a torn midriff while her black shorts and matching sneakers yielded white bleach stains from when blood needed to be separated from the fabric.

Taking a cue from Wade's comment, Tifa said, "Barret's not here… yet. He's doing a supply run."

"I guess that will give us some time to talk, then," Wade said, hanging his hat on the coatrack near the door. "What have you got on tap? Do you still make that brew your father taught you?"

"Absolutely," she said with a smile. "Have a seat at the bar; I'll have a glass coming right up."

Wade took a seat on a stool in the middle while Tifa took her place behind the bar. As she began preparing Wade's drink, Wade removed a cigarette and lit it.

"When did Barret put you in charge of the bar?" he asked.

"About two years ago," Tifa replied. "It was my eighteenth birthday present."

"He gave you this place?"

Tifa smiled, setting Wade's drink down in front of him.

"Sort of," she said. "Half-owner is more appropriate, at least until he can make the move to Station Square."

Wade took a large gulp of the lager.

"Still hanging onto that dream, huh?" he mumbled to himself.

Tifa made herself a cocktail and stood opposite of Wade.

"So where have you been all this time?" she asked softly, sipping her drink.

Wade downed the rest of his beer and said, "Fighting a war I cannot win. When I went back to look for your father I was cut off by Robotnik's 'asshole brigade.' I spent about four weeks roughing it in the wild before I met up with some survivors and set up a colony a few miles west of the Great Forest. Since then, we've been trying to scrape by and find some way to take out Robotnik without blowing Robotropolis all to hell while we're still in it. I really wish your dad would've considered that maybe there was another way other than a suicide mission, but I digress…"

Tifa nodded and took another sip of her drink.

Wade looked up, asking, "How about you?"

"Rogue managed to get us to Feral Forest where we managed to regroup. We lost some children along the way…"

The barmaid swallowed hard and took a deep breath as the repressed memories made their appearance once again in her mind.

"We stayed at the G.U.N. camp for a few months until this village was established after the war and things quieted down, relatively speaking. Barret made a deal with Robotnik that managed to get his bad arm roboticized in exchange for allegiance. To keep things quiet, we generally turn away a lot of people that look like they were from the Kingdom of Acorn."

"I see," Wade said. He pushed his empty glass forward, "Another, please."

Tifa refilled his glass from the tap and set it back on the bar.

"Uncle Wade, can I ask you something?" Tifa asked.

"Sure, sweetheart," Wade said.

"Why did Daddy shoot Dyne?"

Wade sighed and emptied his glass in two large chugs. He extinguished his cigarette in a nearby ashtray.

"Well, dear," he sighed.

Wade went quiet for a few moments, mulling over how he was going to break this to his pseudo-niece.

Finally, he came right out and said it, "Dyne… dyne sexually assaulted your sister."

Tifa fell back onto the counter behind the bar. She shakily put her glass down and covered her mouth. After a few moments, she took a deep breath and recollected herself.

"I… I see," she said.

"I figured that was something that's been gnawing away at you for a long time," Wade continued. "I know to some it seems silly that here I am—'back from the dead', though 'more out of the frying pan and into the fryer'—and the first thing you want to know is why your father killed your business partner's best friend."

"Is that why she killed herself?"

Wade closed his eyes and sighed.

"I don't know, Tifa," he said gently. "It might be, but the only person who would know would be your father. Speaking of which… do you still have her ribbon?"

Tifa pointed to her bicep where a worn pink ribbon was tied.

"Every day I think about her," she said. "And I ask sometimes… why did she have to go?"

"You know, your father originally wanted it on her grave. I don't think I quite made it that far."

Tifa gave a small nod.

"I'm sure he'd be okay with me wearing it… at least, for a little longer. Now that I know a little more, it's going to take some time to sink in," she said.

"I understand."

Wade pushed his glass forward. Tifa refilled it once again.

"I'm sorry to switch gears now, honey," Wade said. "But I need to ask you about something that's happening."

Tifa blinked and asked, "What?"

"Has anyone around you experienced any sort of flu-like symptoms or bleeding of any kind?"

"As a matter of fact, yeah… it killed him."

"Who was it?"

"It was a hedgehog on the edge of town. The inn keeper, Xola, and I tried taking care of him—we thought he had contracted some sort of viral infection or something. He ended up dying about… I don't know, three weeks ago? He's been the only one that I know of that's been sick. Most of the vagrants who pass through here I never see again."

"I see," Wade said thoughtfully. "Tell me, have there been any characters or creatures that seemed… a little out of place to you?"

"There was a female rabbit that came through here a good while ago. She didn't say much and kept her head down; Barret served her and kept an eye on her."

"Tifa… that rabbit, was she wearing a uniform of any kind? Were there any recognizable insignias?"

"I'm sorry Uncle Wade, I just don't know," Tifa said, slightly deflated. "Why?"

"Tifa, I think Lulumae Rabbot might be involved in a group that's testing some biological warfare components and it's wiping out entire colonies."

Shocked, Tifa exclaimed, "Lulumae?! But… why would she do such a thing?"

"I don't know," Wade said. "But whatever the case, I scoured a camp of whoever the hell is responsible for this and found some of her notes. If she's not involved with it directly, they at least have a lot of her research. I need Barret's buggy to go out to Beauregard's place in the desert and see if I can find out where she is and get to the bottom of this before any more bodies turn up."

Tifa rubbed her face with both hands.

"I don't know what he'll say," she said cautiously. "But I'll do what I can to help."


	16. Left Behind

Doctor Elena Davis was a tall, slender blonde human female with long, vibrant blonde hair tied into a ponytail and large brown eyes that always put Bunnie at ease. Her narrow face always seemed to be displaying a smile like a negative emotion never existed in the woman's array of feelings.

But today was not one of those days.

Bunnie looked up at the woman as they stood inside the pale blue room with a smooth drop-ceiling and concrete floor. In the center was a large polished table, bolted to the floor, with four matching chairs stationed at each end. On the other end of the room was a heavy gray door; next to it was a large two-way mirror. Bunnie looked into mirror and wondered who was on the other side, if anyone.

"Dr. Davis?" she asked timidly. "Can we go now? I don't like it here…"

"In a minute, sweetie," Elena said gently.

The door opened and in came three individuals. The first one had a black hood over their head and wore a rugged, torn green camouflage uniform. Their hands were restrained behind their back while their feet were shackled together to prevent escape. Behind the prisoner was a muscular man of a stature smaller than Wade's but a little bit taller; with slicked back dark brown hair and glasses shielding pale hazel eyes, this was the close-quarters-combat specialist in the project, Anthony Enos. Beside him was a girl built much in the same way—definitely not petite like Doctor Davis—with short black hair and vibrant brown eyes, this one was Imogen Bonds. Like Doctor Davis, they were dressed in FOXHOUND military gear that Bunnie had become all too accustomed to seeing. But it was okay: knew these people—save for the prisoner—for as long as she had known Uncle Wade; to her, they were her family.

Anthony removed the hood and removed a gray rabbit underneath. His face was rough and dirty much like his uniform. Imogen undid the handcuffs before shoving the Mobian down into a chair; she reapplied the restraint, this time cuffing the soldier to the table. Doctor Lowery, wearing a black FOXHOUND uniform, walked in with a file folder in his hands, reading silently.

"So, this is the leader of the Sand-Blasters," he said without looking up from the folder.

Doctor Lowery looked down at the rabbit and shut the door. The rabbit looked back at him, his tired blue eyes reddened with angst, lack of sleep, and war.

"I'm Doctor Lowery…"

"I know who the fuck you are," the prisoner spat. "What I want to know is why the hell you brought me here? If you're gonna kill me then goddammit kill me."

Anthony reared back and punched the hare square in the jaw. Droplets of blood splattered all over the floor and Doctor Lowery's boots. The doctor sighed, turned to the two-way mirror, and gave a slight nod. Upon seeing this, Elena gently pushed Bunnie behind her. The door opened and two buckets were pushed in: one full of water, the other empty. Imogen took the empty bucket and set it behind the chair as Anthony tipped it backwards.

"W-what are you doing?!" the rabbit shrieked.

"Watch and learn, cum-stain," Doctor Lowery said flatly.

He shoved the hood back over the prisoner and picked up the bucket of water, gently pouring a steady stream of water all over the face of the hapless rabbit. The rabbit gasped and coughed as Doctor Lowery relented.

"Who found out about the operatives?!" he shouted.

"I… I don't know what you're talking about!" the prisoner shouted back.

Doctor Lowery resumed the waterboarding, letting up after about thirty seconds.

"Your name is Jerome Rabbit, right? How do you think your son Jack would like this kind of treatment? Or would you rather him watch his father get tortured?"

"Leave my son out of this!" Jerome screamed.

Doctor Lowery refilled the bucket and made a heavier stream onto Jerome's face. Jerome continued to violently twist and turn, gag and cough, desperately trying to maintain air and fight the feeling of drowning. When Doctor Lowery stopped, he jerked the hood back off, grabbed Jerome by his soaked collar, and slammed his head onto the table, keeping it there.

"WHO SOLD THEM OUT?! TALK YOU FUCKING CUNT!" the doctor screamed.

Jerome continued to gasp for air.

"I-I don't know!" he shouted.

Doctor Lowery picked Jerome's head up and slammed it back down onto the table.

"LIAR!" he screeched. "TELL ME!"

He slammed the rabbit's head onto the table a few more times. The rabbit still refused to admit any knowledge of what was being asked of him. Doctor Lowery released his grip on Jerome's head; Imogen grabbed the back of his uniform and pulled him upright.

"Bring her over here," Doctor Lowery ordered to Doctor Davis.

Doctor Davis put her hand gently on Bunnie's back. The child wore a pair of blue denim overalls and was barefoot; Jerome eyed her cautiously, unsure of this forgotten casualty of war.

Doctor Lowery reached behind his back and pulled out a semiautomatic handgun. He shoved it into the side of Jerome's head and said, "Tell her why she's now an orphan."

Bunnie looked up at Doctor Lowery and asked, "What… what's an orphan?"

Whatever that term was, it wasn't a good one, she knew at least that much.

Jerome stared at the young girl in silence.

Then, in an instant, his hands flew out from behind him and pointed the gun upwards above his head. Instinctively, Doctor Lowery pulled the trigger. With a sound akin to that of a thunder strike arcing there in the room, a bullet tore through one of Jerome's ears and into Anthony's neck. He grabbed his throat as blood began to spurt all over the table and walls. Imogen immediately ran to his aid as Bunnie began to scream; Doctor Davis picked her up and tried running for the door. Doctor Lowery and Jerome continued to struggle for control of the gun, sometimes firing random shots into the ceiling. Doctor Davis began banging on the door, screaming for someone to open it.

Doctor Lowery grabbed Jerome and threw him into the two-way mirror. The force of the impact shattered the entire window, showering the area with mirror shards and debris. Doctor Lowery grabbed a piece and began violently stabbing Jerome as the rabbit tried to point the gun towards Bunnie.

"Fucking… traitors…" he gasped.

Doctor Lowery took the shard and rammed it into Jerome's eye with all of his might. The force of the blow sent the piece past his cavity and into his brain, killing him instantly. The gun fell carelessly out of his hands and landed on the floor followed by his crumpled body. Imogen was crying uncontrollably as she stood up, covered in Anthony's blood, and surveyed the room as was Bunnie. Doctor Lowery turned around slowly, also covered in blood, and took a deep breath. He looked down at Bunnie.

"I'm so sorry, sweetheart," he breathed. "I'm so sorry…"

Bunnie ran to him and hugged his waist. Doctor Thomas looked solemnly up at his surviving teammates and put a stained hand on the back of Bunnie's head as she wept.

Her parents were gone; she was left behind to fight this war alone.


	17. Unwelcome Guests

"Thanks for the help, son," Xola said while dipping the ladle back into the soup pot situated back in the center of the table. "We've got a few people who come in to eat because they can't cook or lack the supplies."

"How many people live out here?" Tails asked.

"There's about twenty scattered around; here in the village there's only about seven or eight. Most of them live in the woods or out towards the desert. No telling now how many are left because of the virus."

Tails nodded while he set empty bowls down at each placemat on the old wooden dining room table. The dining room itself was a shadow of its former grandeur—an old, unpolished silver chandelier with four globes hung above the center of the table. Each chair was, like the table, at one time sturdy maple with intricate carvings and patterns with a comfortable seat cushion; now the cushions had most of the stuffing removed and the chairs looked ready to collapse if one so much as farted on it. The once velvet-red wallpaper peeled in numerous places and suffered many stains.

"Tell me, son," Xola said, "How old are you, to be exact?"

"Eleven," Tails answered.

The old cat nodded.

"I imagine this is a lot to burden you with at such a young age."

Tails shrugged, "I don't know what to think. I've been told that since I'm just a kid that I can't help with anything."

"What do you do for fun? Do you have any hobbies?"

"I like to read a lot," the fox said. "My friend Rotor is a mechanic—he teaches me how to fix stuff. I've managed to fix a lot of things: motors, electronics…"

Xola motioned towards Tails' gun propped up in the corner, asking "You said you've shot before; have you ever fixed anything like that before?"

Tails turned to the gun and scratched the back of his head.

"Mr. Xola, can you keep a secret?" he asked.

"Of course, son…"

"A lot of people back home, when Mr. Hallman showed up, were surprised to see me use a gun. The truth is… I actually have a gun similar to that. It belonged to my father. Nobody knows that I have it, not even Aunt Sally."

"Aunt Sally; you mean, Princess Acorn?"

Tails nodded.

"My best friend Sonic gave me the gun; it was supposed to be a present for me when I got older, he said, just in case my parents… well, he told me not to tell anyone, or that Sally would be really upset."

"I see," Xola said. "Do you shoot much?"

"I've only shot it a few times, mostly at paper targets and old cans."

Xola gave a tired smile and said, "I'm sure with practice you'll be the best shot there is. Are you the only one in your village that has a gun?"

"As far as I know," Tails said.

"Then your village should consider itself lucky to have an aspiring expert marksman."

Tails and Xola took a seat at the table as a human made their way in. It was a girl in her late teens dressed in a ripped shirt, blue jeans, and worn black boots. She was very thin with long silky red hair, pale skin, and dark green eyes. She took a seat next to Xola.

"Evening Xola," she said wearily. "What's tonight's special."

Xola dumped a serving of soup into her bowl.

"Vegetable; I'm sorry I couldn't do any better. Tails this is Rebekah. Rebekah this is Tails; him and his friend are passing through."

Rebekah smiled at Tails and gently shook his hand.

"It's nice to meet you," she said, peering over his shoulder and noticing his namesake. "I can't say I've ever met a fox with two tails before."

Tails blushed slightly.

"Yeah," he said. "My real name is Miles, Miles Prower, but everyone just calls me Tails."

Rebekah smiled to herself while they ate. Before too long more residents of the village seated themselves at the table. Tails was somewhat surprised at the blend of humans and Mobians that shared this area. He surmised that in desperate times you can't discriminate against who is willing to help. He listened to the conversation between the villagers—they seemed to be alluding to the "Barret" character that Xola mentioned earlier and the "trouble" that he was known for causing.

After dinner, the villagers gave their thanks to Xola, some even giving him wares in return for his generosity. Xola reassured them that he didn't need to be given anything for his services but appreciated the gesture nonetheless. Rebekah stayed behind to help clean up; Tails did as well.

"You two don't have to help, I've got this," Xola said, gesturing to the empty bowls and flatware on the table.

"It'll be okay Mr. Xola," Tails said reassuringly. "I don't get to help much anywhere else, anyway."

They gathered up the dirty dishes and brought them into the tiny kitchen. Xola proceeded to wash while Rebekah and Tails dried and placed the items back where they belong.

"So," Rebekah said. "Where're you from, Tails?"

"The Great Forest," Tails replied.

"A little bit away from home, wouldn't you say?"

"Yeah… we've got the virus."

Rebekah looked up with concern and asked, "You too?"

"Their whole village has it," Xola said, still facing the sink. "He's on an escort mission to try and find the vaccine, if there is one."

Rebekah cracked half a smile and said, "Wait… you, an escort? But you're so… cute."

Tails blushed more intensely this time and couldn't look at her as he fervently dried the dish in his hands.

Xola laughed, saying, "Come on, now, Becky; his party is heading out to the desert tomorrow. Besides, he's got a gun."

"Really?" she asked with enthusiasm. "Can I see it?"

Tails put the dish away and fetched his rifle. He handed it to Rebekah who examined the gun carefully.

She murmured to herself while she flipped the rifle over: "Squall Arms model, bolt-action, .308 caliber, camouflage paint job…"

Rebekah looked at the butt of the gun and froze. After a moment she snapped back to reality and handed the rifle back to Tails.

"Hey, Tails," she asked cautiously. "Where did you happen to get this gun?"

"It was given to me," Tails said.

Rebekah nodded slowly before saying, "Well, thanks again for dinner Xola. Tails… I guess if I never see you again… take care of yourself."

Tails looked up at her and said, "You too."

With that, Rebekah turned and quickly walked out of the flat. Xola turned around while drying his hands on a dish towel.

"What was that all about?" he asked.

"I don't know," Tails said. "She looked at my gun and saw something on the butt of it."

Xola took the gun and looked at the butt.

"Oh, my word…" he whispered.

"What is it?"

Xola slowly turned the rifle towards Tails where he could see the bottom. On the bottom was the engraving of a fox staring outward with a combat knife in its mouth and the word "FOXHOUND" across the top.

"There's only one man I know who could possibly be the owner of this gun," he said. "And there's only one other person I know of that would be in its possession. Was the man who gave this to you a human named Wade Hallman?"

Tails nervously nodded.

"Shit," Xola said harshly. "Son, I hate to say this, but you and your friend are in deep trouble if word gets out: they're going to see that gun and immediately think that you all are working for FOXHOUND. Unfortunately, Wade and his associates didn't leave a good impression on the people around here."

"So what do we do?" Tails asked.

"Stay in your room. Do _not _leave this house unless I tell you to, understand?"

Tails nodded again before saying, "Wade Hallman is here in town; he said not to let anyone know we know him."

"Now you know why," Xola said. "Where is he?"

"At the bar…"

"Okay, when he gets out, I'm going to get him to come here. Now, go back to your room and lock the door. Barricade it if you have to. Don't open it for anyone except me. I'll bring you some ammunition to keep your gun loaded. Now go!"

Tails grabbed his rifle and ran back towards the room he shared with Bunnie. He hoped that this time he would do a better job of hitting something he shot at if the need arose.


	18. Silence Reigns

Barret was a large, physically overpowering black man with a roboticized arm and cornrows haircut. His large chin hidden behind a thick, close-cut beard was dirty. Barret wore a large insulated white sleeveless jacket over a fishnet tank-top, hunter green work pants that contained numerous oil, blood, and unidentifiable stains, and large brown steel-toed boots. His already grim face hardened on the first sight of Wade.

"The fuck are you doing here?" he asked sharply.

Wade got off his stool and put back on his hat.

"I need a ride," he said flatly. "And you're the only one around here that can provide one."

Barret placed two large cardboard boxes he carried in on a nearby table. He stomped across the bar and pointed to the door.

He yelled, "The only ride you need is straight into the deepest, darkest corner of some shit-stained hell. Get out, now!"

Wade casually looked at the door before looking back into Barret's burning gaze.

"I figured you wouldn't be easy," he responded nonchalantly.

"Barret," Tifa gently said. "Wade has information on a possible vaccine."

Barret turned from Tifa back to Wade.

"That true?" he retorted.

"I think Lulumae Rabbot has the cure," Wade said. "I also think she's part of the group behind it."

Barret slid out a chair from a nearby table and sat down in it. He drummed his natural fingers on the tabletop impatiently as he thought.

"I thought that was her," he said to himself. "Goddammit, I should've stopped her… got some answers… And what if it isn't? And what if this is some trick?"

"You know I could just kill you now and steal your buggy," Wade pressed. "In case you've forgotten, people are dying."

"You stupid cunt, I know people are suffering! I know people are dying! And you're too chicken-shit to kill me. If you had any balls whatsoever, you would've stopped Thom. But did you? No, you didn't."

"You know just as well as I do that Dyne was guilty of what he did, Wallace, but if you still want to be his posthumous defense attorney then by all means, be my guest."

Barret started digging his fingernails into the table.

Suddenly, he laid his hand flat before reaching into his coat pocket and pulling out a set of keys. He threw them at Wade who caught them effortlessly.

"Take it," Barret said. "I ain't got nothing left."

"Not even Dyne's daughter?" Wade asked.

"She's dead," he said, looking down at the table.

Wade was somewhat astonished.

"I'm sorry," he said. "What happened?"

Barret snorted, saying, "Like you honestly give a rat's ass, but what the hell, I'll tell you anyway: you wanna know what happened? I couldn't protect her like I told Dyne I would should anything happen to her. Some Freedom Fighters kidnapped some of the children here—Marlene included—trying to get them away from here and into their cause. We went after them to get the kids back and… there was a fight. Somehow they managed to get their hands on some guns. One of those fuckers threatened to kill the kids if we didn't back off. I kept pressing forward and he made good on his promise. I ripped every single one of those animals apart and hung their insides from the trees. Now they're all buried out back. And if this virus doesn't end, there won't be anybody left to bury us."

He looked up and asked, "Happy now?"

Wade didn't answer. Tifa wiped her eyes as Barret looked back down at the table.

"Take Tifa with you," he said.

"What?" Tifa asked.

"Go with him," Barret continued. "I don't… I don't want you to be here anymore. Go to Station Square, somewhere, anywhere but here."

"What're you talking about?" she asked. "This is the only place I have left."

Barret slammed his fist on the table.

"Dammit, Tifa!" he screamed. "Just do this one thing for me! Just go!"

Tifa remained quiet.

Wade turned to her and said, "Is there a place to stay the night around here?"

"Yeah," she said softly. "Xola the cat runs a hostel at the edge of town. Let me pack a bag and I'll meet you over there."

Wade nodded and started towards the door. He stopped and turned back to Barret whose gaze had not left its downward position.

"I know what you're thinking about doing," Wade said grimly. "Whether it's the right thing to do, I don't know. I've thought about it plenty of times myself. But whatever the case, I hope you understand that I don't hold a grudge against you for anything that has occurred between us in the past. If you still want to, then that's your deal. This world has gone to hell in a hand basket, but there's one thing that I always remember you saying: 'there ain't no gettin' off this train we're on.' Maybe that's why I keep going… or maybe because it's that I'm too goddamn stubborn to die."

Barret didn't respond.

Wade placed his hand on the door to open it.

"Wade?" Barret asked.

Without turning around, Wade responded, "Yeah?"

"Promise me that you'll take care of Tifa… and that you figure out who your real enemies are out there."

Wade took a deep breath and opened the door into the cool night air where silence reigned.


	19. There's No Going Back

Bunnie nervously ate a sandwich while drinking a glass of water while Wade patrolled the halls with Xola. Tifa sat on the bottom bunk next to her, gently caressing the rabbit's back to offer some comfort. When she entered the room, the two girls immediately exclaimed each other's name and leapt into a tight—and tearful—embrace. There was so much catching up to do yet so much danger present. Tails stayed ever vigilant guarding the door and looking out the window, even escorting Tifa to the kitchen so she could make something to eat for Bunnie.

"Thank you so much, sugar," Bunnie said when Tifa returned. "Y'all don't have to go to all this trouble for little 'ol me, especially since we haven't seen each other in, what, years?"

Tifa smiled and sat down next to her, saying, "Yeah, it's been a really long time. I knew I'd see you again someday."

She looked down sadly at Bunnie's roboticized limbs.

"I'm so sorry that, well, you know…"

Tifa trailed off. Bunnie smiled sadly and squeezed Tifa's hand.

"It's okay, darling," she reassured. "It does have its advantages."

While the girls talked quietly between them, trying to make the best of the situation, Tails once again peered out the window. His heart stopped when he saw the pale redheaded girl he met earlier, Rebekah, standing roughly fifty yards away from the hostel staring intently into his exact window if not his exact gaze. Tails looked at her hands: they were holding something, but what?

"Tifa?" Tails asked nervously.

Tifa got up off the bed and came over to look out the window also. Her eyes widened.

"Rebekah…? What is she doing?" she asked herself in a whisper.

Bunnie looked up, asking, "What's going on?"

"A girl in the village named Rebekah," Tifa explained. "She's coming towards the house. Go get Wade, now!"

Bunnie leapt off the bed and flung open the bedroom door. She screamed Wade's name; Wade appeared in the doorway with Xola right behind him moments later.

"What is it? What's the problem?" he asked quickly.

Tifa pointed out the window and said, "That's Rebekah…?"

She stood in confusion midsentence as Wade turned and ran towards the front door while yelling for Xola to help him. Tifa looked back out the window and saw that Rebekah had now broken into a sprint towards the hostel. The former bartender ran towards the front lobby where the human and cat were mere inches away from the front entryway when the door was kicked open. The barrier smacked into Wade hard enough to send him topping back into the check-in counter and then onto the floor. Xola tried to perform a defensive maneuver on Rebekah only to have his arm grabbed and twisted behind his back. The former guest pulled the cat in front of her as a shield and held a black partially serrated combat knife to his throat. Wade rolled backwards in a somersault and pushed himself up onto his feet with his MP5 pointed straight at Rebekah's head.

"Drop the gun, Hallman," she commanded without hesitation.

Wade didn't flinch.

"I'm not here to cause a ruckus with you, Rebekah," he coughed. "We just want to stay the night and then move on in the morning. We're trying to find a vaccine for the virus."

"So you say; too bad you aren't going to share it with the rest of us who fucking need it."

"Well," Wade said dispassionately. "At the moment y'all aren't exactly giving me much inclination to share."

"Just shoot her," Xola begged in a hoarse voice. "Don't worry about me…"

Rebekah tightened her grip on the cat and dug her blade deeper into his fur.

"Quiet!" she shouted at him. Back at Wade, she continued, "As for you: I assume you talked to Barret? I saw Tifa come over here. I guess there's no going back now, huh?"

Tifa, Bunnie, and Tails watched silently from the hallway.

"If you want to find Thom and let him know how you feel, be my guest," Wade retorted. "But leave us out of it. I don't even know if he's alive."

"You're alive, so he must be, too."

"How do you figure that?"

Rebekah narrowed her gaze and growled, "Come _on_, Wade: he followed _you_."

Tifa looked at Wade and asked, "What is she talking about?"

"Another story for another time," he barked.

A bullet tore through Rebekah's shoulder and through Xola's neck. He immediately brought his hands up in response to his two new openings. Rebekah shoved him off as she fell out of the way of the door and onto a side table that tipped over under her weight. She crashed into the floor grasping the top of her right shoulder, screaming in pain. Tifa pulled Bunnie and Tails backwards so hard that they fell onto the floor before recollecting themselves quickly and scrambled towards the kitchen. Wade ran to Xola's side only to discover that there was no life left in the feline host.

"Don't move," a grim, grizzly voice hissed followed by a gun cocking.

Wade looked up into the barrel of a pump-action shotgun. Its owner—a snarling, towering white wolf—scowled at the human.

"I guess you were right, Rebekah… there is no going back now," Wade sighed.


	20. Loaded and Alone

Tails looked solemnly at the dirt and grass that passed under them as their captors took them to a new location. They had been dragged from the hostel and loaded onto a flatbed truck under the watchful eye of a brown hedgehog and a towering gray bear, both armed with assault rifles. Tails didn't know much about guns other than what he was accustomed to, but he figured he wouldn't get far with that kind of firepower. He and the fellow prisoners—Tifa, Bunnie, and Wade—were handcuffed with their wrists behind their back and tossed onto the rusty bed of the truck. Wooden pallets served as the guard rails with Tifa and Tails secured to one and Wade and Bunnie to the other. Rebekah, grasping her shoulder, climbed into the front of the blue cab, cursing vehemently at the white wolf that seemed to be in charge; he climbed into the driver side and seemed to dismiss her injury. The hedgehog and bear took a seat against the rear cab window. Nobody from the town had emerged, not even Barret.

"Who are you?" Bunnie demanded.

"Shut up!" bellowed the bear. He cocked a round into the chamber in an attempt to frighten her and said, "I don't want to hear a fucking word out of your mouth until the boss says so."

Bunnie rolled her eyes, quipping with, "Fuck off."

They rode in silence as they pulled onto an old dirt road leading deeper into the forest. He fought back the urge to cry, knowing damn good and well it was his fault they were caught. They would all be so mad at him that he threw the entire mission down the toilet. He just wanted to be friendly; he hadn't had much experience with humans before Wade…

The truck pulled into an encampment. Modular steel buildings had been erected along with large tents. Tails looked around: whatever this was before, it was now repurposed. The hedgehog and bear jumped off the truck and removed the handcuffs.

"You so much as breathe funny, we shoot. Understand?" he asked.

Everyone remained quiet.

"Yeah, we get it," Wade said in a huff. "You're scared shitless of us."

The bear rammed the butt of his rifle into Wade's stomach.

"Quiet!" he screamed as Wade doubled over in pain, falling to his knees.

He managed to pick himself back up slowly and glare at the tall, vicious carnivore. The hedgehog motioned for everyone to step forward towards the center of the camp. A roaring bonfire surrounded by large stones cast an orange glow on everyone as they approached. The hulking white wolf that subdued Wade stepped forward.

"Linda!" he shouted. "Get out here!"

The door to one of the mobile buildings opened up. A saucy, red-haired, peach-colored echidna walked out with piercingly evil blue eyes dressed in a skin-tight leather outfit and tall boots. She adjusted her belt and tossed back a cybernetic dreadlock that extended out of her skull. Wade immediately turned to Rebekah, shouting, "Hope you're real proud of yourself you worthless slut, you've sealed your own goddamn death warrant!"

The echidna smiled as she approached Wade casually.

"It's been too long, Wade," she said coolly.

"How clichéd," Wade replied flatly. "Is this where I say it hasn't been long enough? I should've gutted your sorry bug-eating ass when I had the chance."

Her smile widened. She reached up and placed her hand on his cheek.

"Do you really mean that?"

"More than you'll ever know, Lien-Da," Wade said darkly.

The echidna known as Lien-Da slowly took her hand back and turned towards the fire in pause.

"I haven't been called that in such a long time," she said, her smile disappearing. Lien-Da swallowed hard before continuing, "In any case, I assume you're intent is to cross the desert in search of the one known as Lulumae Rabbot, yes?"

"Let me guess… you guys have the virus, too?"

"Not quite," she said, turning back to face the group. "My organization was orchestrating a deal with dear Doctor Lowery. He wanted to exchange the virus for a Chaos Emerald."

Wade's eyes widened.

He gasped, "Then… then he built it…"

Lien-Da's smile returned as she said, "Oh, yes; all it needs is its power source. I believe you spoke to Snively about it as well?"

"So you're busy sucking his cock as well? Really, Lien-Da, what's your angle? Were you planning on killing Thom and taking the Metal Gear for yourself and then just march all the way back to Robotropolis? You know that Thom wired that place to blow if Robotnik expires, right?"

Lien-Da snorted.

"You really are naïve, Wade," she said callously. "I would lure G.U.N. and the Acorn lineage there before firing a nuke at Ivo's main lab. I figure the resulting crater would be enough to wipe out any chance of recovery. After that, Station Square needs to be wiped off the face of the planet."

Tails couldn't resist anymore. The mere thought of Sally being killed by this bitch was becoming too much. Screaming, he ran forward and leapt for her. Lien-Da grabbed Tails by his collar and slammed him into the ground. She picked up a nearby stone that encircled the campfire and hit him in the face as hard as she could. Tails screamed in pain and began weeping as blood erupted from his nose and mouth.

"Oh, I'm going to have fun with you, little one," Lien-Da snarled. "Take them and lock them in the cell. I'll figure out what to do with them in the morning."

Rebekah hobbled forward, holding her bleeding shoulder, and demanded, "Linda, our deal?"

"Oh yes," the echidna said thoughtfully.

She reached behind her back and produced a semiautomatic handgun. Before Rebekah could react a loud shot rang out throughout the surrounding woods. Wade and the others watched in horror as Rebekah fell back over a log and lie motionless on the ground. Lien-Da twirled her gun on her index finger playfully before putting it back in her belt. She looked down at Tails and smiled sadistically.

"Now then," she said. "Let's get loaded and alone."

Tails gulped.


	21. Hemorrhage in My Hands

Wade sat silently, staring straight ahead above Bunnie and Tifa's heads. They were locked inside a holding cell composed of galvanized iron bars inside one of the encampment buildings. From the ceiling hung two fluorescent lights that provided more than enough light to scope out every inch of the interior; unfortunately, every single item that could aid them with escape was out of reach. The silver aluminum walls provided little insulation to the noises outside which consisted of crickets chirping, mindless chatter between Lien-Da's subordinates, and screaming of agony.

Bunnie covered her face and wept with each wail of the young fox. Tifa put her arm around Bunnie and tried to console her. Even though Bunnie could tear the bars apart there was no guarantee a gun wouldn't be waiting to blow their heads off on the outside, plus they could kill Tails in response. Of course, they could already have decided to kill him, but not before Lien-Da had her demented fun on the child.

Time passed. The screaming eventually subdued.

Before long the door swung open. The large white wolf from before walked in; Tails was limp under his arm. The ferocious canine had changed from torn denim jeans to a full desert-camouflaged uniform. The patch shaped in the form of a triple-point shield on the right shoulder was a slender yellow "S" wrapped around a peach sphere set against a dark green background. The word "DRAGO" was sewn across the name tag.

Bunnie immediately ran to the door and grabbed it.

"Back the fuck up!" Drago screamed. "Or I'll break this little piece of shit's neck!"

The rabbit scowled fiercely and slowly stepped back from the door. Drago swiped a keycard against a magnetic reader attached to the door which disengaged the lock. After tossing the broken fox in, he slammed the cell shut. At the door to the building, he turned and sneered.

"Once I shut this door, it will activate the security system. If any of you get the bright idea of busting out, there's enough C4 rigged to this tent that will turn it into fucking dust. Lien-Da hasn't decided what she wants to do with you yet and probably won't until we get the rabbit. If it was me, personally, I would've fucked you bitches already and then tossed all your carcasses into a pit where it belongs."

"Fuck you," Tifa said coldly.

Drago smiled and shut the door, locking it. The faint sound of a keypad being pressed could be heard.

"You think he's bluffing?" Bunnie asked.

Wade looked up above the door: a silver box had multiple conduits running out of it to other boxes along the upper walls and lower baseboards of the shed.

"Doubtful," Wade said. "That box doesn't look like a fuse box to me; and they sure as hell wouldn't put C4 on the outside where the enemy could get to it. Let's wait until the coast is clear and then take a look. How's the boy?"

Bunnie was already on her knees cradling Tails in her arms. His eyes were barely open; dried blood stained the corners of his mouth and his nostrils. His eyes were bruised and bloodshot. Bunnie immediately noticed a steady stream of blood coming from Tails' backside.

"Oh, sugar," she said, once again on the verge of tears.

Wade got on his knees along with Tifa across from Bunnie. They gently rolled the vulpine onto his stomach. Wade gently lifted Tails' tails, causing the boy to wince. Bunnie quietly comforted him while Wade looked.

"They raped him," he said grimly.

Bunnie immediately looked up.

"W-what?!" she stammered.

Tifa wiped her eyes, saying, "Oh… my God…"

"And it looks like," Wade continued. "They ruptured his colon. I need to examine it further and see if he needs stitches. Goddammit… I'm going to…"

"No, _I'm _going to rip that motherfucking bitch echidna's uterus out and stuff it down her throat," Bunnie said, cutting Wade off. "Outta my way."

She marched up to the cell door and punched it off its hinges, forcing it to fall and slam into the ground. Wade managed to get to his feet and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Hang on, dear," he said calmly. "Even when we get out of here, and that's _if _we get out of here, we still have to find your aunt and get to her before anyone else does. You know that, right?"

"Of course I know that!" Bunnie shouted. "I'm not fucking stupid, Wade!"

"Okay, okay," he said softly. "Just let me see what we're up against concerning getting out of here, alright? Try to find something to put pressure on it and see if he's even conscious enough to know what's going on."

Bunnie stared at Wade for a moment, her brows narrowed, before letting out an exasperated sigh and starting the task asked of her. Wade walked over to the front door and pulled over a table to use as a makeshift scaffold. The box itself was secured with four screws; luckily, a screwdriver was found fairly quickly after searching through several of the available drawers and toolboxes. Wade gently lifted the cover off.

"Oh, fuck me," he said disheartened.

Tifa asked, "What is it?"

Wade pulled out his radio and put the receiver in his ear.

Immediately, he began to transmit: "Mad Dog to Overlord, this is an emergency..."

* * *

Sally sat by the radio. It wasn't her turn to have night watch duty but she insisted. It had been silent for quite some time; the last transmission was with Bunnie telling a story from her past. Little progress had been made in trying to concoct a vaccine of some sort; they did, however, manage to construct a serum that kept people from dying.

At least, for the time being—there was no telling how long their bodies would sustain before organ failure.

Sally had been sending broadcasts periodically anxiously awaiting a response. What she got was not what she wanted to hear.

Wade's voice crackled over the radio, "… this is an emergency …"

Sally grabbed the mike and immediately keyed it.

"Overlord copies," she said. "Wade, what's your emergency? What happened?"

"No time to explain, Princess. You have a computer?"

Sally blinked before responding: "Yes, why?"

"See if you can find any records on a security system model 'FH-6983C4'."

Sally queried NICOLE and was presented with a response.

She said, "It says it's a security system designed by FOXHOUND that involves C4 detonation upon breaching… what the hell is going on?!"

"I don't mean to sound trite with this, Sally," Wade said. "But this isn't the best time."

Bunnie was next to come over the air.

"Sugar," she pleaded. "We're trapped; we were kidnapped by some bunch of mercenary assholes. They've got us locked in this building and we're trying to get out! Tails is hurt badly!"

Sally stood up so fast it knocked over her chair.

"What about Tails?!" she shouted into the mike.

There were some sounds of shuffling over the air. Suddenly, a new voice that Sally didn't recognize came on.

"Sally?" the new female asked. "My name is Tifa—I'm a friend of Bunnie's. Tails is bleeding from his rectum; he's hemorrhaging in my hands right now as we speak. I'm trying to stop the bleeding but we can't get out of this building until we disarm this system."

Sally started to cry silently. The thought of Tails bleeding made her feel uncontrollable shame for failing to protect him. She wiped her eyes and started to read off what NICOLE reported. After going back and forth with Wade on clarification of different components, wire colors, and integrated circuit chips, Wade reported: "OK, I'm going to try and disarm this thing. Wish me luck."

"Good luck," she whispered. "Bunnie, what happened?"

Bunnie started to weep.

"Oh, sugar," she cried. "They… they violated him badly. They beat him to a bloody pulp."

"Who did?"

"An echidna… one of those goddamn echidnas… Lien-Da is her name. Her and her mercenaries are searching for Aunt Lulumae! She said that Dr. Lowery is alive and was trying to make a deal by swapping a Chaos Emerald for a Metal Gear!"

Sally didn't know what a Metal Gear was but it didn't sound promising. Did it have something to do with the nuclear warhead? She made a note to research it later.

"Good grief," she sighed. She keyed the mike again, asking, "Alright, alright… what's Lulumae's role in this, then? Did Dr. Lowery tell her to create the virus?"

"No," Tifa responded tersely. "Dad would… I mean…"

"Wait… he's your _father_?!"

"It just keeps getting better, doesn't it," Wade remarked. "OK, I've set the jumpers. I'm about to start cutting."

"What the hell is your father doing ordering viruses created that is wiping out a good portion of the population?!" Sally screamed into the microphone.

"Sally-girl, take it easy," Bunnie implored. "We need to get to Aunt Lulumae first. She can tell us the whole story and we can get the vaccine… wait, Wade, what are you doing?"

"Shut up and start helping. It'll be your only chance if this thing doesn't work," Wade snapped.

"What are you doing?" Sally asked. "Wade?"

No response; not from Wade, not from anybody.

Sally slowly sunk to the floor.

"Tails…" she whispered.


End file.
